Legends of Minecraft: Legend of the Gilded Valkyrie
by Dr. Sauros
Summary: Join me as I tell you the tale of the land in the sky. Where winged men and women fly free. Where the sun never sets, and where pigs fly. The Aether!
1. Notice

**A Quick Notice:**

If you haven't read my first book, Legends of Minecraft: Heroes of Notchton, you might want to do that before you go any further, because I'm gonna expect you to know some things.

Sincerely, from the desk of Dr. Noah Sauros.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Discovery

_The Gilded Valkyrie is coming,  
>but not in the same form as before.<em>

_Another one must inherit the armor,  
>because the first one is no more.<em>

_One with no wings, but with skill, and heart,  
>must come to our realm, and then he must start<br>his journey._

_It is Gravitite he must defeat  
>for his quest to be complete.<em>

_And his powers will he not earn, until the three virtues he has learned._

_To become the Gilded Valkyrie._

~ The Prophecy of the Gilded Valkyrie: History of the Aether, Volume 4, from the Grand Archives of Ambrosium City.

* * *

><p><strong>Notchton: 1 year after the battle of Notchton<strong>

The massive forest was silent. It was a very mountainous one, with houses on the ridges, and a big stadium in the center. In this stadium, thousands of people sat and watched intently. There were four large TVs* hanging, one facing each side. Below these tvs was a podium, and the people watched as an 18 year old girl walked up to it. She had red hair, and was wearing a green robe, with a burgundy colored undergarment. The councilwoman. She grabbed a microphone, and cleared her throat. Then, she said, "Welcome, everyone, to the one, the only, _Survival gaaaaaaames!" _The audience cheered and applauded. Robin continued, "Let's give a round of applause to our tributes for this week!" On the screens showed 24 men and women. Among them was a blonde boy wearing a beanie, with his hair covering one eye. After the applause died down, Robin said, "Tributes, please take your positions!"

Maxwell walked into the stadium, and stood on a small wooden platform. He looked around at all the people playing alongside him. He grinned. Fair game. Robin backed away from the podium in the center, and a lot of chests raised up. Robin said, "Game begins in 30 seconds!" Maxwell had a little time to think about his strategy. First, he would need to take down Cardiff, since he posed the most threat. Then, he plotted the directions to the nearest hidden chest. Through the clearing, take a left, then right, right, left,..."20 seconds!"...then take the stairway up the hill to the house. In it's basement is a chest containing: 1 Diamond, Iron sword, iron chestplate..."10! 9! 8!"...and bow. Use arrows sparingly. Maxwell knew this map like the back of his-"BEGIN!" Maxwell ran in the stampede of tributes to the chests. He opened one, and grabbed a wooden sword, and a fish. Another one grabbed a leather tunic, and a piece of bread. Maxwell hit him with his sword. The sword was a prop, of course. Everyone had a predetermined number of hits, before they were sent back to the stadium's lobby. Armor added more hits. Maxwell hit the guy a few more times, and suddenly, a buzz sounded. Robin said, "Collins! You're out!" The guy said, "Good game." Then dropped all his items, and ran away. Maxwell took the tunic, put it on, ate the fish, and ran out one of the doors of the stadium. He had wasted enough time already. He ran to the clearing, and followed the directions in his head, until he reached the house. Suddenly, he saw a man walk out wearing an iron chestplate, and carrying an iron sword. someone had reached the chest before him. Maxwell brandished his sword, and the other man did too. The man rushed at Maxwell. Maxwell parried, and swung his leg around tripping the man. Maxwell hit the man with the sword until the buzz sounded. The man dropped his items and left, as Robin shouted, "Burton! You're out! 22 tributes remain!` Maxwell put on the iron armor, took the iron sword, and put the bow on his back. Suddenly, an arrow hit Maxwell in the back. Maxwell threw his sword at the archer hiding in the bushes. The sword telescoped, looking like it went into him, sticking to the man. Maxwell ran up to the man, pulled the sword off, and as the man pulled out his sword, he flipped over him, and struck him in the back several times, until the buzz sounded. The man dropped all his stuff, and left. Maxwell looked through his items. He had two diamonds and a stick, along with some armor. He must have been on his way to the house to craft a diamond sword. Maxwell put on the chain armor the man had, ran to the house and crafted a diamond sword.

A few minutes later it was just down to Maxwell and Cardiff. Robin said, "2 tributes remain! Maxwell and Cardiff, return to the stadium for the Deathmatch!" Maxwell ran in the direction of the stadium.

Cardiff stood on his platform, wearing a diamond chestplate, holding a diamond sword. The rest of his armor was leather. Did he get if fairly? Nope, he brought it with him. Maxwell got to his platform. Cardiff grinned. Only a chain helmet, an iron chestplate, and leather leggings and boots. Robin said, "Alright, gentlemen, deathmatch in 5..." Maxwell sized up his opponent. Maybe, thought Maxwell. Maybe. "4..." Cardiff simply thought, easy out. "3...2...1...GO!" Cardiff ran at Maxwell, and Maxwell ran...away? This was unexpected. Maxwell pulled out a fishing rod, and cast the hook, which was actually a slime ball. He hooked Cardiff, and pulled him to the ground. Maxwell fired arrow after arrow at him, until he got up. Cardiff caught the last arrow, and threw it at Maxwell. It got Maxwell square in the chest, the green slimeball tip splatting on impact. Maxwell and Cardiff ran at each other, and Cardiff swung his sword, which Maxwell parried, blocking blow after blow. Cardiff got Maxwell in the arm, and took advantage of the opening, striking him repeatedly. When Maxwell finally got himself together again, he only had one hit left. Cardiff swung his sword, but Maxwell jumped on the dull side, using it to boost himself to the top of the gazebo in the center of the stadium. Maxwell fired two arrows at once at Cardiff. Now Cardiff only had one hit left. Maxwell took out his bow, and reached in his quiver. No arrows. Cardiff grinned, and fired an arrow. In a last ditch effort, Maxwell strung his diamond sword in the bow, and fired it at Cardiff. It sliced through the arrow, causing both sides to fly to either side of Maxwell, and the sword his Cardiff squarely in the chest. The speakers buzzed. The audience stood and cheered like thunder! Cardiff shouted in anger. He took the sword and threw it at Maxwell. Maxwell caught it by the hilt, and put it in it's holster. He jumped off the gazebo, and walked in, where Robin was waiting. She said into the microphone, "Ladies and Gentlemen, do you agree that that was the most spectacular win ever?" Two reporters with a british accent stood in the audience in front of a camera crew, and one of them exclaimed, "For goodness bally sakes, Bertie, what a win I say!" Bertie said, "Yes, GameChap, what jolly-spiffing strategy! What an unprecedented use of a sword in the Survival games!" GameChap said, "Well, this is GameChap and Bertie signing off, thank you very much you jolly good fellows, we'll see you again on our next exciting outing, UNTIL THENnnnn..."

* * *

><p>Andrew sat in his office, overlooking Notchton. He had dirty blonde hair, and brown eyes, and he wore a red and grey robe. He thought about how far Notchton had come in the past year. Not only had they repaired it from when Herobrine attacked, but now they had a fully functioning Survival Games arena. A small man with red hair walked in. Andrew looked. It was the mail man. The man set the mail on Andrew's desk. Andrew thanked the man, and the mail man left. Andrew looked at the address on one of them. He groaned. ANOTHER letter from the Department of Normality, or the Depnorm as they're more commonly known. They kept saying that the physics in Minecraft weren't correct, making ridiculous assumptions, like 'Trees shouldn't be able to float!'. As if they actually <em>knew<em> anything about physics. Andrew recalled the users referring to them as 'Trolls'. Their letters were actually somewhat funny at first. For instance, the first letter they ever got from the Depnorm said:

"OMG THE PHYSCS IN MC ARE SOOOOO DUM I MEAN WHY DO TREES FLOT I MEAN SRSLY WTHECK DUDE YOU GUYSS NEED TO FIX IT"

When the council replied, saying they thought the physics were just fine as they were, and they didn't really expect what they were supposed to do about it, the Depnorm replied:

"NOONE CARES ABOUT WHAT U THINK WE WANT MC TO BE REELISTIC GO GET NOTCH OR SOMETHING"

Andrew opened the letter, saying to himself, "Let's see what you've got...'Trolls'." The letter said:

"THIS IS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL NOW WATER CAN BE FOREVER I SWARE IF U DON'T GET NOTCH-"

The mailman came back through the door, panting. He said, "Urgent message for the head councilman!" Excellent, Andrew thought. Something else. He opened the letter. It was from the Trekkers! It said:

"Dear Head Councilman Andrew,  
>We have reason to believe that we have found something of great importance. We were searching for resources, when-"<p>

* * *

><p>The villager looked at the huge mountains ahead. He said to the Trekker captain, "Sir, how are we going to get across the mountains?" The captin facepalmed, and said, "Well, OBVIOUSLY, we're going over! Prepare the crew!"<p>

As the Trekkers climbed up the mountain, one of them saw something odd in the sky. Tiny specks. He said to the captain, "Sir! What's that?" The captain looked to the sky, and said, "Probably some birds."

When they reached the top of the mountain, they saw a small structure, a small mossy stone structure. The captain walked up to it. He walked around it, until he found a door. He walked inside. It was dark. And dusty. He brushed aside a cobweb. Suddenly, he saw something, It looked like an inactive portal, but it was made of cobblestone. He placed a torch. He examined the portal, but suddenly, the torch dropped to the ground, setting the wooden floor on fire. The captain quickly took out a bucket of water, and poured it over the fire. When the water touched the portal It lifted into the air, and swirled. The portal lit up. It was actually made of glowstone! The water filled the hole, and made a blue rift in the center. The captain's eyes widened. Suddenly, the beacon on the top of it activated. The captain ran outside of the structure, and saw the blue beam of light burst into the sky, and broke through the heavy cloud layer. The clouds cleared for a mile around, revealing thousands of floating islands in the sky. The Trekkers all stared. The captain said, "Write a letter to the head councilman, and get it to him as soon as possible!"

* * *

><p>Andrew's eyes widened. He realised something. Ever since the Forge detonated, there were a myriad of things that they knew nothing about. The new animals that were added to Notchton, they knew plenty about, but this...this was something new entirely. He got up, and walked out of the door. He said to a guard, "Assemble the Council. We have a situation."<p>

* * *

><p>Horatio placed the redstone along the ground. He had jet black hair, and purple eyes. He wore a white robe, with a purple shirt and black pants underneath. He teleported to another incomplete section of the contraption, about 6 blocks in the air. A man wearing a blue shirt, and dark blue pants walked in. He had brown hair. Stevie. Stevie shouted up to Horatio, saying, "Hey buddy! You need any help?" Horatio said, "No, No, I think I'm almost done here." Horatio was working on the new defense system. Even though Herobrine was gone, there was still a bit of a monster issue. Horatio laid the last bit of redstone, and teleported down next to Stevie. Horatio wasn't always able to teleport, at least this easily. About a year ago, he had been infected with a virus that was slowly turning him into an enderman. His friends, Andrew and Robin, had saved him before he could fully turn. He was left with jet black hair, purple eyes, a fondness of the colors purple and black, and the ability to teleport. At first, he could barely teleport, and when he could, it drained him so fully that he could hardly walk. But soon, he found out that just like any muscle, his ender pearl (The organ that allowed him to teleport, and also his heart) could be strengthened with use. He could still tire out, of course, but his teleportation finally became practical. Another man, who looked exactly like Stevie, except with green eyes instead of blue, walked in. Bryan. Bryan said, "Horatio? Andrew wants you. He said it's urgent." Horatio said, "Alright then. Stevie, watch the lab for me, if you would be so kind."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>*Now, you guys may be thinking, "DUDE! THEY DON'T HAVE TVS IN MINECRAFT! YOU SUUUUUCK!" If that's the case, first off, jeez, calm down! Secondly, you're right. Tvs aren't in <em>your <em>Minecraft. I'm referring to the secret Universe that the game is based off of, and is still trying to catch up with.**


	3. Chapter 2: The University

Andrew sat in the dining room, waiting for Robin and Horatio. The door opened, and Robin and Horatio walked in. Andrew smiled, and said, "Hey guys! Have a seat." Robin and Horatio sat down at the large table. Andrew said, "Well, I guess there's no reason to drag this out." Andrew put the letter on the table. He said, "The Trekkers have made their monthly trip two days ago. I received this letter today." Robin read it out loud. When she had finished, Horatio sat there, mouth gaping. Robin's eyes were wide. Horatio said, "I...Islands? In the _sky?! _" Andrew nodded, and said, "Robin, Horatio, I'll be honest with you. Ever since the Forge detonated, we've been completely clueless. We don't know what's out there, and this new discovery is not an isolated incident." Andrew held up a list. He said, "Last month, the Trekkers found giant footprints in the forest. Two weeks ago, one of the Trekkers swears up and down that he saw several different trees move on their own. Three months ago, the Trekkers went in a cave searching for resources, and they found giant, massive bones." Andrew put the list on the table. He said, "But now, with these islands, which I suspect is even more important than any of these, we need to do something. We need to train people to go to where the mods have been dispersed." Horatio said, "What do you have in mind?" Andrew said, "Maybe...a school?"

* * *

><p><strong>And so, the University of Minecraft was founded, to train Notchton's best to go into these modded areas. They founded this school with a major goal in mind: to get a man to this new land in the sky. Who is the man to explore this brave new world? Who was the one meant to brave this dangerous, possibly inhabited territory?<strong>

* * *

><p>Maxwell snored on his bed, his head in a small puddle of drool. Yes, that's him. He may not seem like much, but believe me, he's smarter than he looks. Maxwell's eyes slowly opened. He had been going to the university for a few months now. He remembered something important regarding the university. He got up, and cooked some pork. He kept thinking: this was <em>really <em>important, he just knew it. He looked on the table. His graduate's hat was sitting there. Hat. The word rolled around in his head for a few moments. He sat down, and ate his pork. Hat. Maxwell had a clue now, something important to do with a hat. He looked out the window, and saw a couple of his friends walking in the direction of the university, wearing their graduate's hats. _Where are they going? _thought Maxwell. _Are they graduating or something? _Then he felt like a creeper had exploded at point-blank range. Five seconds later, he was running down the road to the University.

Maxwell arrived at the University building. It was a large, white building, and the words "University of Minecraft" were on the front, built from glowstone. Underneath, the words, "Gloria Inventionem". The Glory of Discovery. Maxwell wondered what he was going to discover once he graduated. Would he find dragons? Would he go to another dimension? He walked through the doors. He walked down the hallways, and into the large assembly room. There were hundreds of seats, in front of a large stage, decorated with three podiums, and the words, "Graduating Class 1" There were already people filling most of the seats. Maxwell heard a poof, and suddenly, Horatio was standing next to him. Maxwell jumped. He would never get used to that. Horatio smiled, and said, "Welcome! Please find your seat, we'll be starting in a moment." Maxwell sat in a seat. He looked to either side of him. There were balconies where the non-graduates were sitting. Maxwell looked to the stage, and Andrew walked up to the center podium, Horatio teleported to the podium on Andrew's right, and Robin walked to the one on Andrew's left. The audience applauded. Andrew held up his hands for silence. He said, "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Users of all ages! Welcome to the first graduation of the University of Minecraft!" Andrew turned towards the graduates. He said, "Graduates, you sit here on the verge of a new era. The old ways are done. Ever since the Forge exploded, the rules haven't been the same. Now, one year later, we finally start to embrace the new way. Ladies and Gentlemen, when you step up here, and receive your assignments, know that you're not only exploring. You could even make contact with another intelligent race. You could find technology that could help Notchton in a way we never thought possible! For this, for being the first step in a long journey, esteemed graduates, we applaud you!" The crowd in the balconies, along with the council, erupted in applause. When the applause died down, Andrew said, "Now, graduates. I have here a list of your names." Andrew held up a list. He said, "When I call your name, walk up on stage, and receive your diploma, and we will give you your first assignments." Andrew looked at the list, and said, "Philetus Monroe!" A man stood up. He had black hair, slicked back, and blue eyes. He walked up on stage, and Andrew handed him his diploma. Andrew said, "Philetus, you will be going to an island in the middle of the Sea of Jeb, to do intensive study on giant bones that have been found embedded in rock." Philetus took his diploma, and walked off stage. Andrew looked at the list, and said, "Crystalline the 13th!"

Person after person passed. They didn't call Maxwell's name. When Maxwell was the only person left, Andrew said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the first graduating class of the University of Minecraft!" The crowd cheered. Andrew said, "May you mine with fortune," Robin said, "Craft in peace," and Horatio said, "And build in freedom!" The class threw their hats in the air, as is customary in user tradition. Horatio suddenly teleported next to Maxwell. He whispered to Maxwell, "Meet us in the castle tonight." Horatio teleported away. Maxwell's eyes widened. What was going on? Was he in trouble? There was only one way to find out. Go to the castle.

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><p><strong>Alright guys, just a little announcement. I now have a new team member! She's going to be helping with cover art for the stories, and she's already working on cover art for Legends of Minecraft: Heroes of Notchton! Everybody, please welcome Crystalline13! (Yes, I snuck a cameo of her in this chapter. I sneeky. :) )<strong>


	4. Chapter 3: Report

"Sir!"  
>"What is it?"<br>"One of the portals...it's been activated!"  
>"...Is this supposed to mean anything to me? They're probably going to the core for trinkets again."<br>"Sir, this one isn't like the rest! It...it was activated from the other side! It was activated from the core!"

*silence*

"What would you wish us to do, master?"  
>"Is the portal guarded?"<br>"No sir, it's in a fairly deserted area. Our scouts found it in zone 52."  
>"I and Geothyllid will go down to guard it. None of the locals must EVER get through."<br>"But sir, what harm could they do to us?"  
>"You have no idea. Go tend to your troops. They need to be at their best. It's nearly time."<br>"Yes, master!"


	5. Chapter 4: Briefing

Maxwell stood at the castle gates. He debated with himself as to whether or not he should push the button, and ring the bell. He had his question answered for him when a guard saw him. He said to the guard next to him, "Maxwell's here. Notify Andrew." The guard nodded, and left. The first guard opened the gate for Maxwell. Maxwell walked through, and into the castle. He stood in the large lobby, and the guard said, "This way, please." Maxwell walked through the large hallways. He eventually got to the dining room. He walked in, and Andrew, Robin, and Horatio were sitting at the table. Andrew smiled, and said, "Maxwell! Please, sit down." Maxwell was somewhat relieved. Andrew smiled at him, that was a good sign. Maxwell sat. Andrew said, "Maxwell, I know you may be a bit confused, what with getting your assignment a bit late and all." Maxwell said, "Yeah, It's a little odd, to be honest." Andrew smiled. Robin said, "We've had our eye on you, Maxwell." Maxwell said, "Me?" Horatio said, "Yep. You've passed every single building, crafting, and self defense test we've given you. You made it through the Survival Games with flying colors. Now, we've got a very special assignment for you." Maxwell was beginning to get excited. Andrew said, "This is something that we've been focusing on for a while now, and this is actually the event that prompted the founding of the University of Minecraft." Andrew pushed a button on the table, and a projector shot an image onto the big white wall to the left of the table. Maxwell's eyes widened. He saw a stone structure, with a blue beam of light going into the sky, parting the clouds for a mile around. Where the clouds cleared, Maxwell saw spots in the sky. He looked closer. "What are they?" Maxwell said. Andrew said, "On closer inspection, we found that they were islands, suspended for no apparent reason in the upper atmoscube. The Trekkers found this on an expedition a few months ago. A portal inside the structure was activated in the process, presumably to there." Maxwell said, "How'd you make the portal?" They were silent. Robin said, "That's the thing. We didn't." Maxwell's eyes widened. Something else was either on earth, or up there. Andrew said, "You're going to be leading a team up there to find out who made it. If there are intelligent life forms up there, you are to make peaceful contact with the locals. Also, bring back samples of anything you can." Maxwell nodded. Horatio said, "You're also going to need some equipment. One moment." Horatio grabbed Maxwell's arm, Andrew grabbed Horatio's arm, and Robin grabbed Andrew's arm. Suddenly, Maxwell found himself in Horatio's Lab. Everybody let go, and Horatio walked over to a counter, and tossed Maxwell a pair of glasses that was sitting there. Horatio said, "This is to help us stay in contact. When you wear these, you have what what's called a 'Chat Bar'. You only need to think the sentence to me, and I receive it on the computer." Horatio gestured to a large monitor. Horatio said, "Gotta love the ComputerCraft mod." Horatio then took an odd little box off the counter. It looked like it was made of wood, but it had a screen on top. Horatio said, "This is your inventory. It utilizes storage technology that is biologically in the users." Maxwell said, "Really? How much can it hold?" Horatio smiled. Math time. "Well," Horatio said, "Well, the average user has 36 slots in his inventory. Each slot can hold 64 of any given item. The heaviest item in Minecraft is one cubic meter block of gold. It weighs 19,300 kilograms. Each slot can carry 64 of these, and there are 36 slots. That brings the total to about...say...44.467 million kilograms. Along with gold armor, that would bring the grand total to 44.519 million kilograms. Roughly the weight of the Castle of Notchton." Maxwell's eyes widened. Horatio said, "Times six." Maxwell looked at the small box with a newfound awe. Horatio said, "It uses the same technology that we found in ender chests. When you want to store an item, you simply hold it over said item. When you want it back, just say, "Inventory, and the name of the item, and it will automatically be teleported to your hand." Maxwell grinned. He looked to Andrew, and said, "Well then! Where's the portal?"

Maxwell stood in front of the Nether portal, next to Andrew, Robin, and Horatio. Maxwell said, "That doesn't look like the right portal." Horatio said, "Oh, it is. It's my latest invention, the Inter-Dimensional Rift Induction Transportation system. The IDRIT. I'm sure you've heard that any distance you travel in the Nether is multiplied by 8 in the Overworld? Well, this system utilizes that to cut travel time to one eighth of the normal time. We'll be using this to get you to the general location of the portal." Maxwell exclaimed, "So, I'm going to have to go through the Nether?!" Horatio said, "Kind of. We've built a protective hub. You'll see it when you get there." Maxwell's team walked up behind them. It was a series of wagons, villagers wearing diamond armor, and horses. Andrew said, "Gentlemen, good luck." Maxwell hesitated, then jumped into the portal.

The villager with a scar across his face walked up to Andrew, supporting his weight on a cane. Thoreau. Thoreau had seen some things. He had once been a Trekker, but he had been badly injured by a group of creepers on one mission, and was deemed unfit for service. Now, he was being given a second chance, to lead the expedition to this new land in the sky. He said to Andrew in a raspy voice, "We're ready, sir. Any further instructions, before we leave?" Andrew nodded, and said, "Actually, yes. Horatio picked up some temporal disturbances around the area of the portal." Thoreau said, "That could mean that-" Andrew nodded, and said, "Something may have come through the portal. It may be nothing, but it could still be a very significant something. If anything goes awry, be prepared for anything." Thoreau nodded, and said, "Yes sir."

Maxwell landed on his stomach. His eyes opened, and he looked at the ground. It was red, not quite as hard as stone, but not quite as soft as dirt. Netherrack. He stood up, and looked down the large hallway. It led to a larger chamber, and was lined with windows, and glowstone. Maxwell walked up to one. He stared out, at the red caverns, flowing with lava, illuminating what would otherwise be a dark, desolate world. The Nether. Maxwell stared out, and saw a massive, white cube, floating around in the distance. A Ghast! Suddenly, Maxwell heard the portal act up behind him. Thoreau stepped through, wearing a large backpack, followed by several other men and villagers, also wearing large backpacks. Thoreau said to Maxwell, "Well, kid, where to?" Maxwell scratched his head, and said, "Well, erhm...follow me." Maxwell walked down the hall, into the large chamber at the end. It was a large, square, cobblestone room, and there were several openings. One of them said, "Portal", and all the rest said, "Unassigned", except for one, that said "Project MAST Headquarters" Maxwell, intrigued, walked towards Project MAST, but Thoreau stopped him, saying, "Sorry, kid, but that's top secret. We're headed to 'Portal'". Maxwell sighed. He walked towards the hall marked 'Portal'.

Maxwell walked through the portal this time, so he didn't land flat on his face when he came out the other side. He contacted Andrew with his glasses, saying, "Maxwell: We're there." Andrew replied, "Andrew: Excellent. Be warned, though, we've picked up activity around the portal. Might be hostile, might not." Maxwell replied, "Maxwell: Understood." Maxwell said, "Inventory, Diamond Sword!" A diamond sword appeared in his hand. He grinned. He walked forward, then realized something. He said to Thoreau, "Um...Thoreau, buddy, where is the portal, exactly?" Thoreau rolled his eyes, and turned Maxwell head around. On the top of the mountain, Maxwell could see the beacon. He said, "Oh. He, he, well...let's get started, then."


	6. Chapter 5: Gravitite

Maxwell looked around. It was night time, so mobs were prowling about. They were in a large plains biome, with the mountains in the distance, where the blue beam shot into the sky. Maxwell could have sworn he saw something move up there...and something glowing. Probably the portal. Maxwell walked towards the portal, but suddenly, he heard something. A groan. He turned around, and saw a group of green men running their way, their arms outstretched. Zombies!

* * *

><p><strong>MINECRAFT FACT FILE: Homo Putredinum, meaning "Stinky Man" aka the Common Zombie<strong>

**Homo Putredinum, or the Zombie, as it is more commonly known, is actually not an undead being at all. It is separated by undead creatures in two major respects:**

**1. Although they do have the capability to infect villagers, their population is not maintained in this manner.  
>2. 99% of them are not infected humans, they merely spawn in dark places, meaning they never even died to begin with.<strong>

**The green skin is characteristic of their species, but it is slimy, stinky, and extremely sensitive, not being able to survive direct sunlight. Their saliva contains a mutagen which can very, very occasionally turn a Villager (Homo Megarhinus, "Large Nosed Man") into a Zombie-like creature. The origins of this monster are unclear, because there was nothing about them in the Book of Notch. They share much of their genes with the Skeleton (Homo Osteus, "Bony Man"), almost as if they were two branches of the same species.**

* * *

><p>Maxwell brandished his sword, as the other men and villagers pulled their sword out of their holsters. The Zombies ran at them, but Maxwell ran up to one, ran it through, swung it around, and knocked over the two more. He slashed another one, but suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his arm. An arrow. He looked into the distance. Two, skinny, bleach white figures holding bows stood there. Maxwell said, "Inventory, bow!" The sword disappeared, and a bow appeared in his hand, and he fired two arrows simultaneously, hitting both of the Skeletons in the heads. Maxwell grinned. He learned that from Robin's archery school, Loxley Archery Class. <em>Looks like it just paid off.<em> thought Maxwell. The other men and villagers fought the Zombies, the Zombie managed to get a bit on one of the Villagers. He yelped, and slashed the Zombie. He held his arm where the monster had bitten him. He groaned, and looked at it. The skin around it began to turn green. Thoreau looked at the Villager. He called for the medic, and a man wearing red and white leather armor walked up to the Villager, and looked at the wound. The mutagen was spreading fast. The medic turned to Maxwell as he took down the last zombie, and said, "Maxwell! Keep this villager restrained, but do not kill him! He's been infected!" Maxwell said, "What? Infected?" The wounded villager groaned. Maxwell's eyes widened. The villager's eyes began to turn dark green. The medic ran away from the villager, to one of the fallen zombies. He made an incision with the sword, and started to search inside the zombie. He mumbled, "C'mon, it's gotta be here somewhere..." He stopped. He used the sword to carefully pull out a small organ, with a pointed end. He carefully slit the pointed end, and squeezed a clear goo onto his hand. He ran up to Thoreau. Thoreau spit on the goo, and it changed to a beige color. The medic rubbed the goo on the wound of the infected villager, and suddenly, the green skin turned to it's normal color again! The villager's eyes turned to brown again. Maxwell stared , as the villager changed completely to normal. Maxwell said to the medic, "How'd you do that?" The medic said calmly, "Simple, really. The Zombie's mutagen in it's raw form is actually a blank slate, not really able to turn you into anything, until it combines with a liquid containing dna. Since the dna it came into contact with first was a villager's, that's what it will turn the recipient into." Maxwell said, "So...you could turn me into...say...a-" the medic said, "Yes, yes, it could theoretically turn you into a completely different life form. But I personally wouldn't, would you?"

As they climbed up the mountain, Maxwell could have sworn he heard something. Almost like...someone talking. Maxwell ran up the mountainside, trying to find the source. He reached the top before the others, but he saw nothing that could have made the noise. But what he saw that couldn't talk, was nonetheless staggering. A stone brick structure, with a pyramid roof, and out of the tip shot a blue beam of energy into the sky. Maxwell stared, as the others arrived behind him. Thoreau stood there for a moment, then said, "Kid? You ready?" Maxwell said, "Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Maxwell walked up to the structure. It had a door on the side, and he walked in. Inside was a magnificent portal, constructed entirely of glowstone! Inside was a swirling blue rift. The rest of the team walked through the door, and looked at the portal. Thoreau said, "Maxwell? Care to do the honors?" Maxwell nodded, and said, "Yeah, I guess." Maxwell walked towards the portal, and suddenly the world turned on it's side. Maxwell fell to the wall behind him, but oddly enough, nobody else did! Maxwell looked at himself: he was glowing with some sort of red energy! Did gravity suddenly decide to play a cruel trick on him? Maxwell heard a voice say, "That's far enough." Maxwell stopped glowing, and fell to the floor again. Everybody drew their swords. A man walked through the portal. He wore dark purple armor, a dark purple cape, had a glowing red shard in his chest, and he had black hair. His eyes were red. Maxwell said, "W-Who are you exactly?" The man said, with a dark expression on his face, "Someone who you will not take lightly. My name is Gravitite, and nobody will be going through this portal." Gravitite's gloved***** hands glowed red. Thoreau brandished his sword, and said, "Sorry, pal, but it looks like you're outnumbered." Gravitite was silent. He grinned, and said, "I sure am. Your point is?" Gravitite held up his hand, and shot a small, red bubble of energy at Thoreau. Thoreau began to glow red, and he fell onto the ceiling! Gravitite pushed harder, and harder, until Thoreau finally broke through the ceiling, and was sent, screaming and hurtling into the sky. A man threw his sword at Gravitite, but Gravitite shot another bubble at the sword. It stopped, turned around, and flew towards the man. The man dodged, as the sword flew straight through the stone wall. Maxwell just stood there, terrified. Gravitite said to Maxwell, "Are you the leader?" Maxwell, quaking, nodded. Gravitite said, "Well then, I've got something special for you." Suddenly, out of the portal floated a giant monster, looking like the top half of a man, floating in mid air, made entirely of fire! Gravitite said, "Geothyllid? Incinerate them." Geothyllid raised his hands, and white hot flames burst towards Maxwell. Maxwell jumped out of the way, but another man wasn't so lucky. He was engulfed in flames, and when they subsided, there was nothing there. Just charred wood. Maxwell knew there was only one way out of here. He looked to the portal. Gravitite saw him, and suddenly, to massive, black wings spread out from his back. He said, "Not happening, kid!" Gravitite shot another bubble at Maxwell, but Maxwell threw a rock at it, and it was caught in the bubble instead. Maxwell made a sprint for the portal, and Geothyllid prepared to burn him. Gravitite said, "Geothyllid! Wait!" As flames burst out of Geothyllid's hands. Maxwell jumped into the portal, and made it through just as Geothyllid's flames engulfed the portal, incinerating it. When the flames cleared, Maxwell was gone. Gravitite grimaced. He shot a gravity bubble at Geothyllid, and Geothyllid suddenly became a hundred times heavier. He fell to the ground, gasping. Gravitite shouted, "IDIOT! Now we can't follow him! We lost him!" Geothyllid gasped, "B-but master...what harm could a human do?" Gravitite said, "You want to go HOME, don't you?! Then do what I say! Understood?!"

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><p><strong>*Gloves: A revolutionary invention by Gravitite's race, made on the principle that if you had armor for your <em>hands, <em>you would run an even lower risk of hurting yourself. Genius.**


	7. Chapter 6: Colliding Worlds

Horatio and Robin sat on the cliff overlooking Notchton, surrounded by torches as they watched the stars. Andrew had sent them off to have a night to themselves. His exact wording was, "Go on! Enjoy yourselves! I can handle things for one night!" Robin and Horatio watched Notchton, the citizens going into their houses for the night. Robin smiled, and sighed, saying, "This is nice!" Horatio nodded in agreement. Horatio said, "It's great to finally unwind after all the action of the past few months." Horatio looked down. He watched as everybody walked into their homes for the night: even though Notchton was better off than usual, the occasional monster did get in. Horatio's mind went back to when they were just a few citizens, looking for a bit of adventure. They had gone out looking for the Book of Notch, a book that held the key to create a machine called the Forge, which could alter reality. But, there was another person who wanted it. Herobrine. He wanted the Forge all to himself, to gain total dominion of minecraft. In their adventure, Horatio had been infected with a virus that was turning him into an Enderman. You probably know what an Enderman is, but in case you don't:

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><p><strong>MINECRAFT FACT FILE: Homo Tenuimavros, meaning "Thin Black Man", aka the Enderman<strong>

**POPULATION STATUS: Extinct**

**The Enderman's physiology was not designed for brute force, but rather, for the agility to deliver many blows without sustaining any damage. It was normaly 3 blocks (9 feet) tall, with glowing purple eyes, and purple particles floating around it at all times. It was most widely know for two things, being the fact that it was extremely skinny for it's size, and possessed the ability to teleport. The Enderman's teleportation power came from it's unusual heart known as an Ender-Pearl. Not only that, though, but the Enderman also had the ability to infect humans with a virus that would turn them into an Enderman, this virus is known as the Ender-Virus. The Enderman also displayed a hive-mind style behavior, their Queen/King being the Enderdragon. (Dracorex Mavros, meaning "Black Dragon King") When the Enderdragon was defeated, however, every single Enderman was wiped out, because the Enderdragon, being the first thing to transmit the Ender-Virus, exerted control over all of the Endermen, and when the Endermen lost their master, their minds simply overloaded. They were totally unprepared to act on their own. One would consider it a bit of a shame though, because the Enderman displayed massive mental potential.**

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><p>Horatio had originally had brown hair, and blue eyes, but now, his hair was jet black, and his eyes were purple. Robin and Horatio had stopped the virus though. They were the ones who defeated the Enderdragon. But before the Enderdragon was defeated...Horatio had nearly...Horatio had faint memories. He was three blocks tall, looking down at Andrew and Robin, horror strewn across their faces. Andrew was holding a bow to Horatio, and Robin was backing away, slowly. Horatio had only one thought in his mind then. Kill.<p>

Robin noticed the guilty look on Horatio's face. Robin put her hand on his. She said, "Hey. What's up?" Horatio looked at her, and said, "Ah, it's...it's nothing." Robin said, "Last time you said that, you were turning into an Enderman. You're still felling guilty, aren't you?" Horatio sighed. He hated to bring this sort of undertone to a happy outing, but..."I nearly killed you!" he said. "If you hadn't killed the Enderdragon, I would have-" Robin interjected. She put her hand on his, saying softly, "Horatio, that wasn't you. That was the Enderdragon telling you what to do. If you were yourself, I know that there isn't a Snow Golem's chance in the Nether that you would've hurt us." Horatio was silent. He smiled faintly. He said, "I guess you're right." Robin smiled. She leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. Horatio smiled even wider now. He put his arm around her, and they watched the moon rise.

After a while, they heard a sound from behind them. Almost like...a faint scream? Monsters? No, they _never _come near torches. Horatio and Robin stood up, and looked for the source of the noise. They looked up. They saw a small speck in the sky. It grew bigger, and the scream grew louder. It was a villager! The villager fell, and splashed down in the pond in front of Robin and Horatio. He popped out of the water, spitting out water. Robin recognized him. She said, "Wilbur?! What are you doing here?! I thought you were on the mission with Maxwell!" Wilbur gasped, and said, "We were attacked! It was...it was a..." Horatio helped him out of the pond, and he said, "Well? What was it?" Wilbur said, "It...it was a man! With _wings!_ He shot red energy bubbles out of his hands, and he flung Thoreau into the sky! No, he didn't throw him, it was like...it was like Thoreau got ten times heavier, b-but the other way! He...he..." Horatio said to Robin, "We need to get him to Notchton." Robin nodded in agreement.

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><p>"Do you think he's alive?"<br>"Hmm...maybe."  
>"Kinda ugly, is'nt he?"<br>"Helena!"  
>"Aw, c'mon, look at him! His chest is too small, his hair looks ridiculous, and where are his <em>wings?<em>"  
>"He's not one of us, Helena, he's from the core. You remember? Steevy?"<br>"Oh, yeah! He's from down there? He's seen _night?_"  
>"Yes he has. He came through the portal, he must have...He's coming to! Hide!"<p>

Maxwell's eyes fluttered open. Two dark shapes moved quickly away. Maxwell's eyes shot open, and he sat up. It took him a moment to process it, but what he saw was astonishing. The grass was pale green, growing on pale blue soil. Thousands of floating islands were scattered across the sky, spotted with pale green, and golden trees! Massive, rocky cliff faces hung in the sky! Maxwell stared in awe. Nothing could have prepared him for this. He stood up, and walked to the edge of the island. He stared down, and instantly regretted it. He was miles in the sky! He looked away quickly. He saw something. It followed his eyes wherever they went. A crack? He took off his glasses: they were fried. He looked up. He saw a glowstone portal, suspended high in the air by a small platform: he must have fallen off when he jumped through, and knocked himself out. Did he hit his head? He didn't remember anything form the past few minutes...there was a fight, and then..."Hey!" A voice suddenly said. Maxwell turned around. There stood a man, taller than Maxwell was. The man had light blue hair, swept back, and ended in an upturned point. Then Maxwell saw it. The man had two large, light blue feathery wings attached to his back. Everything came flooding back to Maxwell. Gravitite. The man said, "Are you alright?" Maxwell drew his sword, and shouted, "Stay away from me!" The man drew his sword, looking alarmed. They stood off for a while. The man said, "I don't want to hurt you." Maxwell said, "Oh really? The why did one of you attack me at the other end of that portal?!" The man lowered his sword a bit. He said, "One of us attacked you?" Maxwell said, "Yes!" The man dropped his sword. He said, "Look, I don't want to hurt you. Just put down your sword, and act civilized." Maxwell held his sword out for a moment longer, then lowered it a bit. The man walked towards him. He said, "It's alright, Helena! You can come out!" A little girl, with smaller, less developed, yet clearly working, wings on her back walked up behind the man. She couldn't have been more than 10, and she had the same hair color as the man. Maxwell slowly put his sword back in it's holster, but he still kept his hand on it. The man said, "What's your name?" Maxwell said hesitantly, "Maxwell." The man nodded, and said, "My name is Mercury. Now, come. I must bring you to my village."


	8. Chapter 7: Warbound

Stevie said, "They were attacked by _what__?!_" Andrew and Stevie stood alone in Stevie's office at the University. Andrew said, "A man with black hair, black wings on his back, wearing dark purple armor with a glowing red shard in his chest. He called himself Gravitite. The way our survivor described what he did, it's almost like he controlled gravity!" Stevie raked his fingers through his hair. He said, "Oh maaan...they actually managed to maintain it's purity! They're _that _smart?! I thought oxygen would undoubtedly-" Andrew said, "Wait, wait...what are you saying?" Stevie turned to his computer. He typed some things in, and the screen showed a man with an expanded chest, hair that was swept back, and two large bird like wings on his back. Stevie said, "There's only one species that Gravitite could be. They're called Valkyries. It was Bryan and I's best attempt to create another intelligent race with the Forge." Andrew said, "And they can control Gravity?" Stevie said, "Well...no. That's the problem. I designed the Valkyries to be able to live in low-oxygen environments, like mountain tops, but somehow, the Forge knew that the Valkyries would be best suited to live in the sky islands! Unfortunately, it put a very dangerous element up there with them." Stevie typed some things into the computer, and a picture showed of a red glowing crystal, next to a pink, non-glowing crystal. On this page it said this:

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><p><strong>MINECRAFT FACT FILE: Gravitite<strong>

**Gravitite is a mysterious, yet powerful element. In it's pure form, it has the ability to create micro-gravitational fields, and control gravity's pull on any given object! In it's pure state, it's red and glowing, but when exposed to Oxygen, it becomes diluted, pink, and loses it's glow. In it's diluted state, it counteracts the gravitational pull of any planet, and falls upwards. Gravitite is actually found in myriads of things, and without it, life would never be possible on earth. Earth's core is made of pure Gravitite, Gravitite is found in Valkyrie blood, lowering the average male Valkyrie's weight to 90 pounds, and diluted Gravitite can be formed into armor and weaponry. Pure Gravitite has never been used in this manner however, because even a molecule of Oxygen coming into contact with it dilutes it.**

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><p>Stevie said, "Apparently, the Valkyries managed to maintain Gravitite's purity. Andrew, if this is what I fear, then we could be facing war against an army of Gravity controlling Valkyries!" Andrew was silent. He thought. He said, "What can you tell me about Valkyrie anatomy?" Stevie said, "Nothing outside of the norm, expanded chests for larger hearts and lungs, the male's hair being a mating display, but other than that and a few other things, nothing! We don't know about their social structure, their way of thinking, the weaponry that they've come up with over their history, not even how long they've been up there! We both know the Forge can alter the past and future as well as the present!" Andrew put his hand on his chin: He said, What about Gravitite's accomplice? The fiery one?" Stevie said, "Judging from the description, Geothyllid is..." Stevie typed some things into the computer. Andrew looked at the monitor, as Stevie said, "This." Andrew stroked his chin. He said, "Well, I guess there's only one thing to do." He walked towards the door, and said, "Prepare for the worst. Hope for the best. Hope that Notch will help us."<p>

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><p>Gravitite flew up towards the sky islands. Geothyllid followed closely behind. The flew up past the islands, and landed. Gravitite walked towards a large castle, saying to Geothyllid, "If the other Valkyries find the kid, they'll probably take him to Ambrosium City. You are to go there, find him, and incinerate him. Understood?" Geothyllid nodded. He said, "Yes, my lord. Will you send me home then?" Gravitite turned to Geothyllid. He said, "I'll send you home when I rule." Geothyllid said, "But-" Gravitite said, "We're done! Go!" Geothyllid was silent. Then, he nodded, and flew off. Pathetic creature, thought Gravitite. He spread his wings, and flew to the top of the castle. He landed, and looked out over the landscape. Hundreds of thousands of glowing purple feathers lit the darkness in a dim, purple glow. Gravitite grinned.<p>

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><p>Maxwell walked across the landscape with Mercury and Helena. Maxwell noticed something about Mercury: His leg was bent all out of shape, and he supported his weight on a cane. One of his wings were also bent oddly, but what was Maxwell to know about these guys. "Are you from the core?" Maxwell turned to the little girl. He said, "What?" Helena said, "Y'know. Down there. Is that where you're from?" Maxwell was silent, then he nodded slowly. He said, "Yeah...why?" Helena said, "What's night like?" Maxwell, attempting a joking tone, said, "What, you've never seen night before?" Helena said, "Nope." Maxwell stopped. He said, "Eh? You've..." Helena said, "Nope, never seen night before. What's it like? Is it much different from day? How many Cockatrices come out? Do you-" Maxwell said, "Whoah, whoah, Mercury!" Mecury stopped, and looked at Maxwell. He said, "Yes?" Maxwell said, "You don't have night?" Mercury nodded indifferently. Maxwell stuttered for a moment, then just said, "Why?!" Suddenly, a look of sadness crossed Mercury's face. He said quietly, "Let's get home." Mercury and Helena walked, but Maxwell just stood there. They don't have <em>night?!<em>


	9. Chapter 8: Matilda

**Okay, I lied about going on Minecraft-Forum. It wasn't as great as I thought. Anyway, back to the story!**

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><p>Maxwell sat in Mercury's cottage, in the middle of a huge farm. Mercury cooked a blue soup in a bowl, while Maxwell sat in a chair, Helena asking even more questions. Suddenly, she said, "So, do you know Steevy?" Maxwell was silent. Stevie? How did she know him? Maxwell asked her this, and she said, "Duuh, everybody knows about him! The guy from the core? The one who created us?" Maxwell said, "How do you know all this, kid?" Helena said, "Oh, that Notch guy told us." Maxwell's eyes nearly popped out of his head. His mind completely lost control of his jaw, leaving it hanging down, but it tried to get control back, but then lost control of verything else. His mind quickly grabbed control of his body again, and decided it might as well wait for a minute, until Maxwell's mouth was more easily controlled. Maxwell was silent for a minute. He said, "You kno...you've seen..." Helena said, "Yeah, he visited us about a year ago. He told us all about your kind, and Steevy. He pretty much educated us on everything we needed to know. Then he left. Although, there's an urban legend that he told us about some long lost weapons, and I think there was something about a book he left with us."<br>It was at this point that Maxwell's mind just thought, "Oh, to the Nether with it all!" and Maxwell passed out.

That evening...or at least it would have been evening, since the sun didn't set...Maxwell sat at the table, eating soup with Mercury and Helena. Maxwell couldn't take his mind off of what he had just heard. There could be a second Book of Notch up here! The implications for this were incredible! They could create a new Forge! JavaScript manipulation could become a part of everyday life! Attempting to stay cool, he lamely asked Mercury, "So, Mercury. How...do you think I would go about getting home?" Mercury said, "Well first, we need to take you to Ambrosium City. It's about half an hour from here, as the valkyrie flies." Maxwell said, "And...how long as the human walks?" Mercury simply said, "I can help that. Just wait and see." Not quite sure how to respond to this, he simply looked out the window. He saw something odd: it looked like...a girl? Of course, she was a Valkyrie too: She landed in a field, her purple armor and sword gleaming in the sunlight. She walked towards the house. Maxwell said, "Mercury? Who's that?" Mercury looked out the window. His eyes widened. He said, "Matilda!" He and Helena got up from the table, and ran out the door.

Mercury ran into the field, unbelievable happiness surging through him. Helena flew ahead of him, and threw herself onto Matilda, shouting, "You're back! You're back!" Matilda hugged her. She said, "Hey, Helena!" She held Helena back to get a good look at her: Matilda grinned, and said, "You got your flight feathers!" Mercury walked up to her. They looked at each other. Matilda smiled at him. She said, "Hello, father." Mercury smiled, and wrapped his arms around her, tears streaming down his face. He said, "You're home!"

Maxwell lost his stride halfway to Matilda. He put his hands on his knees, panting. He could get a better look at her now, though. She was actually about his age, about 17. She had a bit of a scar on her cheek. She was hugging Mercury: it looked like an emotional reunion.

Mercury finally let go of her, and he said, "Come on, take off your helmet! I want to see you! It's been so long!" Matilda took off her helmet. She had long, blue hair, not as light as Mercury and Helena's, and she had blue eyes and wings. Mercury smiled, tears coming to his eyes again. He said, "Look at you! You're beautiful!" He wrapped his arm around her, and said to Matilda and Helena, "Come on, you two! Tonight, we celebrate!"

Maxwell sat at the table again, eating with Mercury and Helena. From what Mercury had told Maxwell, Matilda was Mercury's adopted daughter, and about 4 years ago, she had left home to become a warrior. Maxwell listened eagerly to a story she was telling everyone: "So, me and my troops were over at the big overhang, you know, the really big one? The Cockatrice base? Well, we had gone in there, and they must've known we were coming, cause Veronus had his Cockatrice battalion all prepped and ready, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by the beasts, their posion spitters at the ready!" Helena said, "What'd you do?!" Matilda grinned, and said, "There was only one thing _to _do. We did a whirlwind. When it was all over, Veronus was cuffed, and we went home with Cockatrice for dinner!" Helena gasped, and then stood up and clapped. Mercury said in amazement to Matilda, "That move is nearly impossible! Only two other people managed to do it, and one of them was..." He was silent. He said quietly, "Your father.". The table was quiet. Mercury said to Matilda, "You're the spitting image of him." Matilda smiled, and said, "Thank you." After a moment, she turned to Mawell, and said, "So, enough about my life. What's your's like? You live down at the core, don't you? What's it like?" Maxwell said, "Well, nothing much to say, really." Mercury said, "Come on, there's got to be _something_ of interest!" Helena said, "Yeah! Come on! Tell us!" Maxwell said, "Well...I guess there _is_ a story I could tell you...It all started about a year ago..." Maxwell told them the story of Andrew, Robin, and Horatio, the Heroes of Notchton. He eventually got so into telling the story, that he stood up and started to mime it out, and imitate the voices: "And then the man said, 'My name is Herobrine, but you...will call me master!' Then Andrew said..." ... "And then Norwood said, 'My name is not Norwood. It's Stevie. You're holding the Book of Notch." ... "And then, Robin and Andrew heard a thump from behind them. It was the Ender-Dragon! He _totally _started dissing them, he said, 'Mwah hah hah! So _these _are thre ones sent to destroy me? What humor!'" ... "And then Andrew said, 'Well then! We've got work to do!'" Mercury, Helena, and Matilda clapped. Maxwell bowed dramatically. Helena said, "Tell us another one! Tell us another one!" Mercury said, "Well, I think it's about time for bed. We've got to rest. We need to get Maxwell to Ambrosium City tomorrow." Matilda said, "Oh, He's going to go to Ambrosium City? I can take him." Mercury said, "No, Matilda, that won't be necessary, you have to get back to your squadron soon-" Matilda said, "Ah, I have two weeks leave anyway." Mercury said, "But I-" Matilda said, "Dad, you have a limp and a bad wing. You should actually be staying in a bit more than you do." Mercury said, "Well...fine. I guess you can take him."

The next morning, Matilda was walking out of the door, waving behind her to Mercury, and a disappointed Helena. She wanted to go to Ambrosium City too, but Mercury didn't think that that was the best idea. Matilda and Maxwell walked into a stable. Maxwell walked in and saw two rows of...giant birds? Giant birds, Blue, white, and black. Matilda took out a black one, and handed the reins to Maxwell. She said, "You know how to ride a Moa?" So that's what they were called. Maxwell shook his head. She said, "It's simple. Climb on." Maxwell climbed onto the giant black bird, it's red eyes fixed on him. Matilda said, "Now, you just say Go, and it'll move. The more times you say go, the faster it will go. When you want to stop, just say Stop, and when you just want him to slow down, say Whoah. When you want him to fly, say Fly, but he can only flap his wings eight times before he needs to land, so be careful." Maxwell nodded. He said, "Go!" The Moa walked forwards at a snail's pace. He said go again, but it only went slightly faster. He said, "Go, go, go, go, go, go, go." It ran off at full sprint, Maxwell struggling to hold on as it ran towards the edge of the island. He said, "STOP!" The Moa came to a complete stop, sending Maxwell flying over the edge. He fell, screaming, but suddenly, two arms grabbed him. He looked up, and Matilda was holding him, flying up towards the island. She said, "Okay, your Moa riding skills could use some work."

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><p>Gravitite sat on his throne in he castle. Geothyllid floated quickly to Gravitite, and said, "Master! We have located the core dweller!" Gravitite was silent. Then, he said, "Well? Where is he?!" Geothyllid said, "He is staying with an agriculturalist. Mercury." Gravitite thought. He thought that maybe he should send a platoon of Cockatrices to take him out, but then he had second thoughts. The residents of that house could be a threat, and on the off-chance that they could fend off the Cockatrices, they would take Maxwell somewhere else. He wasn't one to take chances unnecessarily. He said, "Incinerate them." Geothyllid said, "But sir...he has a little girl." Gravitite said, "Geothyllid. <em>What makes you think that I care?<em>"


	10. Chapter 9: Ambrosium City

Geothyllid floated away from the castle. He really didn't want to do this. How could he do this to innocent people? He wasn't a fighter! He was an _astronomer_, for Notch's sake! But, how else was he going to get home? He looked to the night sky. It was always going to be black. Always night. The sun would never rise. And it was all his fault. He hated Gravitite, but he feared him, which was the only reason he was doing what he said. His mind went back to his home: vast, yellow landscapes, dotted with erupting volcanoes, clouds of sulphuric acid in the air, raining down on him, fueling his fire, and feeling the tingle of their electric charge. He wanted desperately to be home again. But how would the Masters take what he had done? What he was about do do? What would his wife think? His children? He shuddered to think about it. He had consequences to face. He looked to the stars. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Pandora." He turned, and floated away, towards the Nether portal.

As he floated to the Nether, he didn't go in a hurry. This was as close to his home as he was going to get. He looked around: Some blazes flew by, some Ghasts were flying in the air, and some pigmen were running around, and swimming in the lava. A Ghast floated up to Geothyllid. It made it's bloodcurdling scream as it preapred it's fireball. It shot a ball of fire at Geothyllid, but he reached out his hand...and caught it. He turned his head towards the Ghast. He crushed the membranous ball in his hand, the burning Netherygen gas inside fueling his fire. The Ghast showed an expression that a Ghast has almost _never _shown before: shock. It turned around, and floated away as fast as it's tentacles could propel it.

He floated out of the opposite Nether portal. He blinked in the sunlight. He looked around: where was the house? He hid under a nearby overhang as a couple of Valkyries flew over his head. They were heading to Ambrosium City, no doubt. He slowly floated out, and over some of the islands. Then, he saw the house. Slowly, he floated over to it. He heard a little girl's laughter from inside the house. He grimaced. Slowly, he raised his hands, and pointed them towards the house. He charged up his fire. He hesitated for a few moments. Then, he closed his eyes, looked away, and released the flames.

* * *

><p>Veronus sat in his prison cell in Ambrosium City. He had yellow eyes, his crest of hair was green with glowing purple streaks running through it, and he wore green armor. He tried again to slip out of his handcuffs. No use. The Valkyrie guard outside looked in, and said, "Hey! Knock it off, Veronus!" Veronus grimaced. He said in a raspy, squawky voice, "You know I won't stay here for long. My Cockatrices will come for me!" The guard chuckled, and said, "Pal, your pets aren't gonna be getting in here anytime soon." Veronus's eyes flashed with indignation. "Pets?" He said. "<em>Pets?! <em>I'll have you know, _sir, _that they are my _brethren! _Not _pets!_ They are one of the most formidabble fighting forces in the Aether, and once they get their beaks on you, they'll-" The guard said, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Try using that at your tribunal. I don't think it'll work." Veronus said, "When I escape, you're the one I'll kill _first._" The guard rolled his eyes, and turned his head. Then, he walked off, and continued his rounds. Veronus sat in the corner, mumbling to himself, "They'll come for me. You'll all see!" Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside his window. He turned his head. His army? No, they didn't seem terrified and woeful enough. He looked out the window. He grimaced as he saw the insolent girl who had the gall to put him in this prison! Matilda! She had somebody with her...a man. He was blonde...hazel eyes...he looked sickly. His chest was too small, that would leave him unable to fly. Then Veronus saw it. He had no wings. Who was this kid? The people certainly were intrigued.

Maxwell and Matilda stood there as the people gathered around them. Maxwell looked around at the Valkyries, the men having their hair done in elaborate crests, and the women holding their babies, all staring at him with intrigue. One of them touched his back, saying, "Where are his wings?!" One of the kids swiped Maxwell's Inventory off of his belt. Maxwell grabbed for it, saying, "Hey! I need that!" The kid was looking at it curiously when Maxwell took it. Suddenly, Maxwell heard an old man's voice, saying, "Enough!" It was kind of a weak voice, but everybody took heed of it nonetheless. The crowd parted, and through them walked an elderly Valkyrie with a staff, made of a pale looking wood. He looked over Maxwell. He said, "Hmm. You are from the core." Maxwell nodded, and said, "Um...yeah. We call it 'Earth'." The old man smiled. He said, "Well then, explorer, I welcome you to our home, the Aether! My name is Acacius. Now, come with me. We have much to discuss." Maxwell said, "Discuss? About what?" The old Valkyrie turned to him. He said simply, "Everything."

Matilda walked with Maxwell and Acacius, half the population of Ambrosium City following behind them. She looked around at all the now abandoned shops, and she saw in the distance, a large stadium. The racetrack. A spark of sadness shone in her eyes as she looked away. Maxwell just stared ahead, awestruck. In front of them was a massive castle, held up in the air by an elevated island, stairways reaching up to it from any side. At the very tip of the castle sat a large, glowing yellow cube. It shone almost as brightly as the sun!

In front of the castle, Acacius, Maxwell, and Matilda walked into the castle, leaving the citizens outside. Maxwell said to Acacius, "So, Acacia? I'm guessing you're in charge around here?" Acacius said, "My name is Acacius, and to a degree, yes. I am merely a steward for our ruler. He has many other things to tend to, so he only comes here when necessary." Maxwell nodded. He said, "So, what's his name?" Acacius said, "You're about to find out." Maxwell looked up the massive spiral staircase leading to the top of the highest tower. He saw the massive golden glow at the top.

They were approaching the top of the castle, when Maxwell panted, "Where exactly...are we _going?_" Acacius said, not even breaking a sweat, "We are going to the Gilded Oak." Maxwell said, "And what is a-" they reached the top of the tower. Maxwell looked around, and stared. In front of him stood a massive, magnificent tree, covered in gold leaves, and with golden sap dripping out of it's bark. Acacius said, "You've seen these grow wild before. Here in Ambrosium City, we cultivate the Gilded Oaks to realize their full potential. Once they do, they can power our entire city!" Maxwell watched. Small bits of golden dust slowly sprinkled down from the tree. Matilda and Maxwell watched as Acacius walked up to the tree, and bowed. He said, "My king. We request audience with you immediately. For the first time, we have a visitor from the core." There was silence. Maxwell whispered to Matilda, "He knows that he's talking to a tree, right?" Matilda said, "Shh. Wait for it." Suddenly, more gold dust fell off of the tree. It started to swirl into a massive golden vortex, and it grew brighter and brighter, so bright, that Maxwell, Matilda, and Acacius had to cover their eyes. When the dust had setlled. Maxwell looked. What he saw made his eyes nearly pop out. His jaw dropped. Standing there, in a gold colored robe...was Notch!_  
><em>


	11. Chapter 10: Notch

Maxwell didn't move. He simply stood there, staring in awe. Notch looked to Acacius, saying, "A visitor from the core, you say?" Notch turned to Maxwell. Seeing his expression, a smile crossed Notch's face. Maxwell pointed to Notch, saying, "You're...he's..." Notch nodded. He said, "Hello, Maxwell. Good to finally meet you in person." Maxwell stammered, and then said simply, "...Hi..." Notch turned to Matilda. He aid, "Oh, and, Ms. Xaadril, I believe? Fantastic work putting Veronus in. Quite a show." Matilda bowed, and said, "Thank you, my lord." Notch turned to Maxwell again. He looked Maxwell over, saying, "So, you're the visitor, hm? Interesting." Maxwell, after regaining the slightest bit of his composure, said to Notch, "So...you rule...the Aether?!" Notch nodded, slightly amused. He said, "I'm guessing that you would like an explanation." Maxwell nodded. Notch waved his hand, and suddenly, everything around Maxwell just stopped. He looked around. The dust falling off of the tree stayed completely still. Acacius and Matilda stood where they were, completely unmoving. Maxwell said, "What happened?!" Notch said, "Oh, I just stopped time for a moment. Or whatever you would call a moment when time is stopped. Now, I'll start from the beginning."

Maxwell watched as everything around him disappeared, and suddenly, he found himself back in Notchton! It looked terrible, though. Buildings were torn apart, and the castle looked to be in terrible shape. He saw a blur fly past from behind him. He looked at what landed in front of him. Notch laid on the ground. He looked behind him. He jumped as he saw Herobrine walking towards Notch, saying, "Now you've done it. Gone and made me angry!" Herobrine burst into flames. Now Maxwell recognized this. This was the Battle of Notchton! Suddenly, Herobrine looked down. His foot had hit a tripwire. Maxwell watched, as six or seven Golems, made of a powerful substance called "Butter" surrounded Herobrine. Herobrine said, "Uh oh." The Butter Golems sent Herobrine flying towards the top of Notchton Castle, where Maxwell lost sight of him. Suddenly, there was an explosion at the top of the castle, followed by another, much bigger explosion, which blew off the entire top of the castle, sending a blue shockwave flying out in every direction. Notch said to Maxwell, "That shockwave was created by the Forge, as you may have figured out by now. When the Forge detonated, it spread all of it's mods across the entire earth, and beyond. And that..."

Maxwell found himself standing next to Notch, except they were floating miles above the earth's surface! Maxwell, even though he knew that this was an illusion, still felt dizzy. Suddenly, down below him, he saw the shockwave. As it passed, the light grew so bright that Maxwell had to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, the islands of the Aether had appeared. Maxwell looked around, and he saw Ambrosium City in the distance. He looked around. Notch said, "And that's how the Aether was created. When the Forge detonated, it put the Aether into earth's history, so in every sense of the phrase, it's been around for thousands of years."

Maxwell's mind bubbled over with questions, but then one question reached the forefront. Maxwell turned to Notch, and said, "Is there another Book of Notch up here?" Notch's expression changed. He grew a bit more serious. He said, "The Valkyries were my second attempt at a species that is capable of handling the power of the Book. But unfortunately, they couldn't, so I hid it away, to be sure that _nobody _could find it. I know that there's a species out there that's capable, but I think it just hasn't come around yet." Maxwell thought. He knew that Notch clearly didn't want him to have the book. He thought, 'Well, if Notch doesn't want me to have it, who am I to argue?'

Maxwell found himself back in the room where he started. Maxwell said to Notch, "Yeah, that's all well and good, but how do I get home?" Notch was silent. Then, he said, "I'm sorry Maxwell, but you need to stay in the Aether. Your full potential has yet to be realized." Maxwell was silent. He stammered, and said, "Wait, so you're saying I'm stuck up here for the rest of my _life?_" Notch said, "No, you will have the chance to go home soon enough, but there are some things you still need to do here." Maxwell said, "Like _what?_" Notch said, "I would tell you, but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a stretch for time, and you could fill a book with the things I need to tell you. So for now, farewell. I wish you luck on what is to come." As time resumed, and the dust swirled around Notch again, Maxwell said, "Wait! What do I need to-" And then, the dust cleared, and Notch was gone. "Know?" Maxwell said.

* * *

><p>"Ah, you're back so soon? How did it go?"<br>"Oh, it went pretty well. I showed the kid how the Aether came around, I told him he needed to stay, and I even left him a little cryptic clue to where he could find out more."  
>"You just <em>had <em>to make it cryptic, didn't you?"  
>"Hey, that's what Rufus said."<br>"Are you really going to trust _him? _He's hardly lucid!"  
>"Hey, <em>you <em>try perceiving five years of their timeline at once!"  
>"...Alright. I hope you know what you're doing."<br>"When _don't _I? Relax, pal, it'll all turn out fine."  
>"In case you haven't noticed, there's a maniacal mastermind bent on dominating Minecraft! I'm nervous!"<br>"He won't get that far. Maxwell's there."  
>"He's a kid!"<br>"Yeah. So were Andrew, Robin, and Horatio."  
>"...Fine. You'd <em>better <em>have this under control."  
>"Trust me, I do. Now, I've gotta get going. I need to get to Minecon. My public awaits, you know?"<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell and Matilda sat on a bench in the town square, talking. Matilda said, "So, you can't go home?" Maxwell shook his head. He said, "Now that I think about it, why can't one of you Valkyries just <em>fly <em>me down?" Matilda shook her head, and said, "We're so far above Earth that we need to have our own air supply. If you go down too far, you hit a pocket where there's no air." Maxwell was silent. Then, he said, "Okay, I've got one. If you guys have been around for _thousands _of years, how come you live so simply? You could get really advanced. All you need to do is-" Matilda said, "We tried that before. Things got so complicated, society collapsed. We picked up the pieces, learned our lesson, and moved on. We're a lot better off now." Maxwell said, "How could it get bad? It's just-" Suddenly, Maxwell heard somebody shout "_LOOK OUT!" _Suddenly, a grey blur crashed into Matilda at massive speed! Matilda and the blur flew at least ten feet away. Maxwell ran up to Matilda. Maxwell said, "Are you okay?!" Valkyries all around them stared as Matilda wrestled on the ground with a Valkyrie in grey, odd looking armor. The helmet extended forward, ending in a point, and as Maxwell got a better look at it, it looked exactly like a bird's head. The boots had small, metallic fins on them. Matilda said, "Get _off _of me!" The other Valkyrie said, "Wait, wait! Just..stay still! You're messing up the ailerons!" The Valkyrie in grey managed to get up, and said, "I am _so _sorry! I really need to learn to get control of this thing." Matilda stood up, a look of extreme irritation on her face. She said, "What's _wrong _with you?!" The Valkyrie was quiet. Then, it said, "Nothing. I'm _great! _It actually worked! Did you see how fast I was going?! I was just going-" Maxwell said, "Um, who exactly _are _you?" The Valkyrie said, "Oh, sorry." The Valkyrie took off it's helmet. It was a girl, somewhere around 12, with short blonde hair and freckles. Her eyes were brown. She was grinning from ear to ear. She held out her hand, and said, "I'm Aeris! Pleased to meet you!"


	12. Chapter 11: City Under Siege

Geothyllid floated dejectedly into Gravitite's throne room. Gravitite sat in his throne, lifting a rock in the air, and letting it fall.  
>Gravitite saw Geothyllid, and said, "Back so soon? Is it done?" Geothllid nodded slowly, and said, "Yes. It is done." Gravitite said, "And you left <em>no <em>survivors?" Geothyllid was silent. Then, he said, "No survivors." Gravitite eyed him suspiciously. "Fine." He said after a moment. Gravitite said, "How are the Cockatrices? Are they prepared?" Geothyllid nodded, and said, "They are prepared, but we are missing one of our platoon leaders. Veronus." Gravitite groaned, and said, "Oh, where's that weasly coward _now_?!" Geothyllid said, "He is being detained in Ambrosium City." Gravitite turned to Geothyllid, and said, "Well then, what are you waiting for? Send some Cockatrices, and go get him!"

* * *

><p>Aeris walked into her room. Her room was populated with animal skeletons, metal scraps, hair samples, a bed, and a desk. This was her life. She studied animals, and occasionally even used them to inspire equipment of her own. She lived with her brother, who was a blacksmith, so she had all the resources she needed. She sat at her desk, setting the helmet down, grabbing a quill pen, and writing in a journal:<p>

**Cockatrice Armor Mk4 Test 1:  
><strong>**Huge success! The addition of the ailerons, and infusing diluted Gravitite in the armor increased normal flying speed two fold! I reached speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour, although not before I accidentally crashed into a civilian.**

Aeris thought about this. Should she mention the person accompanying the civilian? The core dweller? No, she thought. Not in this notebook.

**I believe the person I hit dislikes me.**

* * *

><p>Matilda and Maxwell walked through the city square, Maxwell looking around, enjoying the sights. He looked over to Matilda. He could see that she was still a little perturbed, so he tried to cheer her up.<br>He said, "Cute kid. Smart, too." Matilda said, "She should have been looking where she was going. If she was going at top speed, she could have seriously hurt someone." Maxwell said, "Ah, come on, lighten up! She's only, what, 12?" Matilda rolled her eyes. Maxwell said, "So, are we going anywhere in particular?" Matilda shook her head, and said, "No, not really." Maxwell said, "I'm getting a bit hungry. What do you have to eat?" Matilda said, "Well, we're passing by a restaurant. We could-" Suddenly, Maxwell heard something. It sounded odd, like something breaking. The city turned dead silent. He looked behind him. He heard a squawking sound from behind a corner. Matilda froze in her tracks. She recognized that sound. She quickly drew her sword, and snapped around. Of course this had to happen when she wasn't wearing _any _armor.  
>Softly and slowly, she said to Maxwell, "Maxwell, get behind me. Now." Maxwell slowly backed away, as the sound of hundreds of footsteps grew louder and louder. Suddenly, he heard a squawking from above him, and a dart landed on the ground next to him. He looked to the top of a building. A yellow beak darted away as he looked. Suddenly, Matilda yelped, and Maxwell snapped around. Matilda clutched her arm. A dart protruded out of it. Maxwell ran over to her, and pulled out the small object. It was made of a hard substance, not dissimilar from you user's 'Fingernails'. It was tipped with a purple goo.<br>Maxwell said to Matilda, "Are you alright?!" Matilda groaned, and swayed. Maxwell prepared to catch her, but she righted herself, and said, "No, I can stand." Suddenly, Maxwell felt something behind him. Hot breath, lapping the back of his neck. He turned around. He was met by two glowing yellow eyes, a yellow beak, and a green feathery head. It's mouth snapped open, and Maxwell saw another dart point at him from the back of the bird's throat. Maxwell's mind snapped into strategy mode. Thoughts raced through his head. He ducked, and pushed the bird's head away as it fired it's dart, making it hit another bird. Then, Maxwell flipped the bird over his back, and as it laid on the ground, Maxwell picked up a butcher's knife, and slit the animal's throat. Maxwell turned to Matilda, who was staring at him. He was a better fighter than she had previously thought.  
>He said, "Was that a Cockatrice?" Matilda nodded, and swayed again. She said, "Maxwell, I've been hit by a Cockatrice poison dart. I'm guessing I have about four minutes to live by now. I need you to take me to the medicine store and get the antivenom." Maxwell nodded, wide eyed, and put his arm under Matilda. She walked weakly, as Maxwell supported her. Suddenly, screams arose as hundreds of Cockatrices flooded into the city. About twenty ran around the corner, and surrounded Maxwell and Matilda. The Cockatrice's mouths snapped open, and they aimed their darts at Maxwell and Matilda. Suddenly, a horn sounded. Matilda looked up. She grinned. Suddenly, arrows flew down from the air, hitting all of the Cockatrices surrounding Maxwell and Matilda. Suddenly, thirty different Valkyries, men and women, flew down, and stomped on the Cockatrices, thrusting their swords into the birds. Maxwell looked around at all the Valkyries, clad in purple armor, and holding purple swords.<br>One of the men asked, "Maxwell, I presume? Do you need help?" Maxwell nodded, and said, "Matilda's been hit! She needs antivenom!" The man picked up Matilda. Then, he suddenly recognized her. He said, "Commander Matilda?" He turned to Maxwell, and said, "We'll take care of her. Don't worry. Do you need a lift?" Maxwell looked around. The Cockatrices were breaking into houses, firing their poison darts, and terrorizing the people.  
>Maxwell said, "I'm staying here. Are there more of you coming?" The Valkyrie smiled, and said, "They're already here." The Valkyrie flew away quickly, taking Matilda to the Medicine Shop.<br>Maxwell faced the horde of Cockatrices, and said, "Inventory! Iron sword! Iron armor!" Iron armor materialized on Maxwell, and an Iron sword materialized in his hand. He looked up. Hundreds of Valkyrie warriors flew through the air over Maxwell's head. Maxwell mustered up all of his courage, and ran headlong into the fray.

The Warrior laid Matilda's unconscious form down on the table in the Medicine Shop. He was running out of time. He rummaged through the shelves, until he found a bottle of yellow liquid. Quickly, he poured the contents into Matilda's mouth. He waited for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes started to open. She looked at him.  
>She said, "Lysander? What's going on?" Lysander smiled. He said, "Don't worry, Commander. You're fine. Ambrosium City's under attack. You were hit by a dart." Matilda sat up. She said, "Cockatrices?" Lysander nodded. Matilda stood up. She nearly fell, but she was regaining her strength quickly.<br>Lysander said, "Any orders, Commander?" Matilda nodded, and said, "Mobilize my platoon. We're taking them down." Lysander said, "Yes ma'am." He walked out, and flew away. Matilda looked at the spare set of purple armor laying against the wall.

Maxwell plowed through the Cockatrices, sending feathers flying in every direction. Suddenly, they had him surrounded. Maxwell swung hi sword around, taking down some, but the others dodged. One of them knocked him over, and pinned him to the ground. Maxwell gasped for breath. It leaned in towards his head, and it's mouth snapped open. Maxwell saw a poison dart aiming for his face. Maxwell closed his eyes, preparing himself. Suddenly, he heard metal clanking, and suddenly, the weight of the foot was gone. Maxwell took a deep breath. He looked to where the Cockatrice laid, dead. It's jaw was crooked, and his beak cracked. Something had hit it _hard. _Maxwell looked up. He saw a Valkyrie wearing grey armor, flying high into the air. He grinned when he saw the pointed helmet. Aeris flew higher and higher, until he could barely see her anymore, then, she let herself drop. Gaining speed, she folded up her wings, and just as she was about to hit the ground, she swooped up, flying past Maxwell with such speed that the wind nearly blew his helmet off. She rammed a Cockatrice head on, causing it to fly backwards. She landed, and drew her sword, somewhat clumsily.  
>Maxwell said, "Aeris! Glad you could make it!" Aeris grinned, and said, "Figured you could use some help!" She swung her sword, slashing a Cockatrice, and Maxwell threw his sword at one coming up behind Aeris. A Cockatrice screeched at Aeris. She grinned, and suddenly, she flared her wings, showing a flurry of red, yellow, and glowing purple. She yelled, and the Cockatrice jumped back, obviously scared. Aeris lunged forward, and the Cockatrice turned and ran away. Maxwell looked at Aeris.<br>Aeris said simply, "Ornamental display. Scares the willies out of them." Suddenly, Maxwell looked up, seeing Matilda flying over them, wearing her purple armor, followed by about ten other Valkyries.

Matilda flew towards the prison, followed by her platoon. The Cockatrices were already making their way to the entrance. Matilda shouted to her platoon, "Valkyries! Pincer!" Half of them flew to the left, and the other half flew to the right. Matilda landed in front of the group of Cockatrices at the entrance of the prison. Five Valkyries landed on the left, and started to fight the Cockatrices as five more did the same on the right. Matilda rushed in, slashing Cockatrices, until all of them were dead. Matilda said to them, "There's going to be more coming. I'll guard Veronus. Don't allow a _single _Cockatrice to enter the prison!" The Valkyries shouted in unison, "Yes ma'am!" Matilda walked in._  
><em>

Veronus sat in his cell, waiting for his Cockatrices to get on with it and get him. Did they really have to waste all this time, terrorizing the city? He raised his nose to the air. He smelled somebody familiar to him. He frowned as Matilda walked up to his cell.  
>He said, "Oh, hello Matilda. Here to return me to my Cockatrices?" Matilda sneered, and said, "Fat chance, hybrid. You're not leaving this prison."<p>

Maxwell and Aeris fought the Cockatrices alongside the warriors, Aeris flying into the air, and swooping down, and ramming Cockatrices. Suddenly, All of the Cockatrices stopped. They turned towards the prison, and ran. Maxwell and Aeris went after them, followed by the warriors. The Cockatrices rammed their heads on the stone wall. The wall started to buckle. Maxwell watched as the wall cracked and burst inward. The Cockatrices ran in, and came out carrying on their backs, a Valkyrie wearing green armor, and he had yellow eyes, and green hair with glowing purple streaks. Maxwell looked at the rubble. Suddenly, a hand burst out. Matilda. Maxwell sighed in relief as Matilda slowly rose out of the rubble.  
>She said to Maxwell, "Don't just stand there! Get him!" Maxwell suddenly realized what he was supposed to be doing, and ran after the retreating Cockatrice horde.<p>

Veronus looked behind him. That core dweller was chasing him. He spurred the Cockatrice on. There was no way he could keep up with him.

Maxwell was losing ground. Suddenly, he felt something lift him into the air. Matilda had wrapped her arms around him, and was carrying him towards Veronus. She flew him past Veronus, while Maxwell kicked him, knocking him off his Cockatrice. The bird tried to get him, but the other warriors had gotten there just in time to keep them occupied. Veronus stood up.  
>He said to Maxwell, "You're trying my patience, human!" Maxwell brandished his sword. Veronus squawked with fury as he ran at Maxwell. He threw a punch, but Maxwell dodged, jumping backwards. Maxwell swung his sword, but Veronus dodged, and landed a punch squarely in the center of Maxwell's face. Maxwell fell over on his back. Veronus pinned him to the ground. He grinned. He opened his mouth. Maxwell watched as a poison dart readied itself at the back of <em>Veronus's <em>throat. He was _not _a normal Valkyrie.  
>Maxwell said, "You know, one of your Cockatrices actually tried this. Guess what happened to him?" Veronus looked puzzled, as he heard a whooshing sound, growing closer by the second. Maxwell grinned, and said, "Go on. Guess." Suddenly, out of nowhere, Aeris rammed Veronus in the side, sending him flying backwards. Apparently, Aeris didn;t hit him too hard, because Veronus was only fazed for a moment. When he tried to get up, Matilda landed on his chest. Veronus cried, "<em>Oof!<em>" As he was slammed into the ground. Matilda held her sword to Veronus's neck, as she said, "Like I said. You're not leaving." Veronus looked to his right. His last Cockatrices laid dead on the ground. He grimaced. He looked at Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda. He said, "Oh, you think you're _sooo _tough, just because you can take down my Cockatrices?!" As the other warriors picked Veronus up, and put cuffs back on him, he said, "Believe me, you need to focus your energies on preparing for something even _worse! You hear me?! _Something _much _worse is coming your way!" The warriors escorted Veronus to the prison._  
><em>

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda watched as the townsfolk slowly came out from their shelters. They had been watching what had happened. They gathered around the trio. Then, someone in the crowd clapped. Then, the crowd sent up a massive applause! Aeris took off her helmet, and waved. Matilda smirked. Maxwell grinned. Acacius walked through the crowd. He smiled warmly at them. He said, "It would appear that we have underestimated you, cor...Earth dweller. Come! It seems that tonight..." He turned to the crowd and raised his hands. "We have a _feast!_" The crowd cheered.


	13. Chapter 12: Condolences

Maxwell laid in his bed in the inn, full to the point of bursting. After the feast, Acacius had let Maxwell and Matilda stay in Ambrosium City's finest Inn for as long as they liked. As he laid in his bed, his mind wandered back to the attack at the portal. What had happened to his strategising? Then again, he had had gravity changed on him right before: that would have shaken _anybody _up. He wondered how he could have better handled it. Gravitite looked like he relied on projectiles to control gravity. They might be dodged. He wondered if Valkyries had any natural weaknesses. Suddenly, he realized something. None of the Valkyries knew who had attacked him. Maybe they knew something about Gravitite. I mean, if he could control gravity, they had to know _something-  
><em>_Thump thump thump  
><em>Maxwell sat up. Footsteps. Who would be up this late? Of course, the sun was still shining, but-  
>"I hate having to deliver condolences."<br>Condolences? To who? Maxwell walked up to the door, and put his ear to the wood. He heard two men, walking slowly past his door.  
>Another voice said, "Well, it's gotta be done by somebody."<br>The other one said, "So, who's the person we're delivering condolences to?"  
>"Matilda Xaadril."<br>"Wait, Commander Xaadril?"  
>"Oh, you know her?"<br>"Yeah! I'm in her platoon!"  
>"Hm. Ah, here we are."<br>Maxwell heard a knock on Matilda's door next to him. He heard some footsteps, and the door opened. Then, he heard Matilda's voice.  
>"Scott? What are you doing here?"<br>"Excuse me, are you Ms. Xaadril?"  
>"Yes."<br>"We're sorry to wake you so late. Are you the adopted daughter of Mercury Demetri?"  
>"Y-yes. Why? Is something wrong?"<br>"Well...there was an incident. There was a fire at their house. We're sorry to inform you of this, but there were..."  
>There was silence.<br>"There were no survivors."  
>Maxwell's eyes widened.<br>Matilda exclaimed, "No. No!"  
>Maxwell heard a thump, and he heard crying. He opened the door, and entered the hallway. He saw two Valkyries, wearing purple armor, and in front of them, in the doorway, was Matilda, on her knees, sobbing, with her head in her hands.<p>

Maxwell sat next to Matilda on her bed, tears streaked across her face. The two men sat in front of them, asking them questions. After a few questions, Matilda asked softly,  
>"How was the fire started?"<br>The two Valkyries looked at each other. The shorter one said,  
>"Well, on closer inspection, the char marks on the ground extended out in one particular direction, sugessting that the fire may have been...launched out of something."<br>Maxwell's eyes widened. He said,  
>"Did you say launched?"<br>The taller one nodded.  
>Maxwell said, "I think I came across that when I was attacked at the portal!"<br>The taller one said, "What do you mean?"  
>Maxwell said, "When I was attacked at the Aether portal! There was a Valkyrie, he had black hair, swept back like yours, he had red eyes, purple armor, and he called himself Gravitite!"<br>Matilda and the two other Valkyrie's eyes widened.  
>Maxwell continued, "Yeah, and he had some sort of fire monster with him, Gea...Geolid? Geoth...thyllid?"<br>The tall Valkyrie pointed at Maxwell, and said, "Son, did you just say _Gravitite_?"  
>Maxwell nodded. The two men looked at each other, and the tall one said, "I think that's all we need to know."<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell laid in his bed, trying to sleep, and failing. Maxwell asked Matilda who Gravitite was after the men had left, but all she could tell him was what he already knew.<br>"A very bad Valkyrie who should never be trifled with"  
>Maxwell couldn't sleep. From the soft sobs coming from Matilda's room, he knew she couldn't either. However, with what Maxwell had done that day, him and sleep soon found each other.<p>

* * *

><p>"Notch!"<br>"Yes? What is it?"  
>"Remember that little cryptic clue you left Maxwell? He didn't get it!"<br>"I know. Rufus told me this would happen. Now, I need to send him a dream."  
>"...well? Do it already!"<br>"Alright, alright, don't blow your top. I've got this under control."  
>Notch snapped his fingers.<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell found himself seeing flashing images in his dream. One was of massive cities, with buildings stretching to the sky. The next one was of an advanced looking city being overrun by Cockatrices. He saw a man with black hair, and Maxwell recognized him instantly as Gravitite. Then, he saw fighting, and a Valkyrie wearing silver and gold armor, and then, he saw a city in pieces. Then, the city was sucked into a book, and the book flew into a bookshelf. He heard Notch's voice. <em>You could fill a book with the things I need to tell you.<em> Then, four words flashed before Maxwell's eyes for a split second, and then Maxwell shot out of his bed. His eyes were wide. Even though he saw the words for a split second, he knew what they said. _Go to the archives._

* * *

><p>Maxwell walked into the Library, and looked around. He walked up to the desk up front, where the Librarian was reading, her back turned to Maxwell. Maxwell said,<br>"Um...excuse me?"  
>The Librarian turned around. It was Aeris! She smiled, and said,<br>"Oh, hey Maxwell! What are you doing here?"  
>Maxwell cocked an eyebrow, and said, "Aeris? You work here?"<br>"Yeah, It's more of a day job, really. So, what can I do for you?"  
>Maxwell coughed, and scratched the back of his head, and said, "Well, I'm looking for...information. On, well, the Aether."<br>Aeris said, "Alright then! Just follow me."

Aeris led Maxwell to a bookshelf, and gestured to four books sitting on the shelf.  
>Aeris said, "Here you go, The History of the Aether, Volumes 1-4."<br>Maxwell said, "Yeah, that'll work. Thanks."  
>"No problem. Tell me if you need anything else."<br>Aeris walked away. Maxwell got the four books off of the shelf, and lugged them to one of the desks. He opened the first book, and started looking through it.

* * *

><p>Matilda sat in her room, next to the window. She hadn't slept at all last night. How could she? She thought about what Maxwell had said about Gravitite. Had Gravitite sent Geothyllid to burn her house? Why would Gravitite want-<br>Maxwell.  
>She remembered that prophecy about the Gilded Valkyrie, the one who was supposed to defeat Gravitite. It talked about one with no wings. A human. Gravitite wanted Maxwell dead, and he sent Geothyllid to kill him! She stood up, and paced around the room, her face contorted in anger. Maxwell just <em>had <em>to come up here, didn't he?! If he had never come up here, this wouldn't have-  
>She sat down in her chair again. What was she saying? It wasn't his fault. If <em>she <em>had just let Mercury take Maxwell to Ambrosium City-  
>She put her head in her hands, and cried.<p>

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Maxwell had looked through all four volumes. There was <em>nothing.<em> Nothing about Gravitite's origins, only vague references to that period of time...He looked at the books. There had to be something he had missed! This couldn't be it! Suddenly, he felt something. An urge. He opened the first book, to the very first page. He looked at the Foreward. It said:

**FOREWARD  
><strong>**Welcome to the complete document of the Aether's History! Please enjoy, safe in the knowledge that all accounts are drawn from the eyewitness reports of the Aether's residents, following the Code of Scribes.**

As Maxwell read, three words stood out most prominent to him, for some reason. Three words, his brain arranging them in a sequence. Safe, Code, Knowledge.

Aeris sat at her desk, reading. Suddenly, Maxwell walked up to her again.  
>He said, "Hey Aeris, I have a question. Do you know anything about a safe or something around here?"<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell walked into his room. He held up the small metal safe. Apparently it had been left at the library, and Aeris had let Maxwell take it to the Inn with him. He wondered what was in it. Apparently the word 'Knowledge' was a code of some sort, but this safe didn't have a place to put in a code. It didn't even have a number dial. He stared at the safe. He noticed that it had a layer of dust on it: he brushed some of it off.<br>Suddenly, the safe said, "Commencing DNA Scanning."  
>Suddenly, Maxwell felt something prick his hand. He yelped, and a drop of blood fell on the safe. The needle retreated into the safe, and then, a small arm came out of the top, and a blue light emanated from the small appendage, scanning the drop of blood.<br>The safe said, "DNA Compatible. Opening Storage Apparatus."  
>The safe popped open. Inside, Maxwell saw a small piece of glass. He picked it up. Suddenly, in blue, words appeared on the sheet of glass.<br>They said, "Welcome to the History of the Aether Part 5. Please say code."  
>Maxwell said to himself, "What in the name of Notch..."<br>The sheet of glass said, "Code incorrect. Commencing detonation in 10...9...8..."  
>"Wait, <em>detonation?!<em>"  
>"7...6...5..."<br>"No, no, no, wait!"  
>"3...2.."<br>"_Knowledge! Knowledge!_"  
>"...Code Accepted."<br>Maxwell breathed a sigh of relief. This was way too advanced for Valkyries!

Or was it?

The sheet of glass flickered to life, and the silhouette of a Valkyrie appeared.  
>It said, "Hello. If you're watching this, that means you've been chosen to be the next Gilded Valkyrie. If you don't know what that is..."<br>Maxwell got the distinct impression that the silhouette was smiling.  
>"Then you're about to find out."<p> 


	14. Chapter 13: The Elders

**Alright guys, I guess I have some explaining to do.**

**If you've been following me long enough to know this, Legends of Minecraft has sorta been in a state of limbo, and before I begin this chapter, I would like to explain why.**

**It started when I began to focus my attentions on more than one thing at once, first I was trying to do Gilded Valkyrie, then Gilded Valkyrie and Universe, then Gilded Valkyrie, Universe, and Dinosaur Protection Program.**

**That's when I went into what I (dis)like to call, "Total Writer's Burnout". I couldn't come up with any ideas for a long time. I wandered outside for days on end, mumbling senseless nothings to myself. I was kidnapped by gypsies, and held for ransom, but I just kept mumbling and mumbling until they got so annoyed that they _paid _to get rid of me. I finally stopped mumbling, but I just sat in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I began to speak in Doge, saying things like:**

**"Wow."  
>"Such blank."<br>"No idea."  
>"Very bore."<br>"Wow."**

**My condition deteriorated. Interventions were attempted, and failed. I was eventually sent to a psych ward, where my roommate was a morbidly obese man with three nostrils and eleven toes.**

**And I don't mean six toes on one foot, either, I mean eight and three!**

**Then, as I sat in my bed, speaking Doge, and picking my ear with the bedpost, I had my epiphany. I sat in a beam of light. I couldn't spend my whole life speaking in Doge! I had to straighten things out! When the orderly saw that I had made an overnight recovery, I was sent home, and I immediately straightened out my life. For the first time in five years, I changed my underwear! I showered! I cleaned my room! I organized my bookshelf! And after that, I sat at my computer, grabbed a cup of coffee, put on some Lindsey Stirling, and here I am, fresh out of a case of writer's block!**

**_On with the story!_**

* * *

><p>Geothyllid watched as Gravitite paced up and down his throne room. Veronus should have been back by now. Where was he?! Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, and saw a battered Cockatrice running into the throne room. It's beard was cracked, it's wing bent out of shape. It started to squawk in alarm, and continued to do so, until Gravitite said to Geothyllid,<p>

"Geothyllid! Go get Demetri!"  
>Geothyllid nodded, and hurriedly left the room. He came back a moment later, bringing with him another Valkyrie with the same armor, hair, and eyes as Veronus. Demetri kneeled, and said,<br>"Master Gravitite! How may I, your humble servant, assist your unending-"  
>Gravitite impatiently said,<br>"Spare me the greetings, just tell me what happened to this Cockatrice!"  
>Demetri nodded, and said,<br>"I will do my best, your highness."  
>Demetri put his head up to the Cockatrice's. He said,<br>"He says that the siege on Ambrosium City was a failure. Veronus was apprehended by a Valkyrie girl, a warrior, and...a core dweller!"  
>Gravitite's eyes widened. Suddenly, a look of intense, fiery, unbridled rage crossed his face. Gravitite said to Demetri through clenched teeth:<br>"You may leave now, Demetri."  
>"Yes, my lord. If there is anyway else I can assist you, I will not hesitate to-"<br>"Demetri."  
>"Yes, my lord?"<br>Gravitite screamed,  
>"<em>OUT!<em>"  
>Demetri hurried out of the room. Gravitite turned to Geothyllid, veins bulging. Geothyllid was terrified. As Gravitite advanced, Geothyllid backed away, saying,<br>"I-I swear to you, my lord, the human could not have survived the fire!"  
>Gravitite shot a bubble at Geothyllid, and pinned him to the wall. Gravitite spoke, his voice soft, dangerous, and unstable.<br>"You and I are going to Ambrosium City."  
>Gravitite started to shout.<br>"If I don't see the Human's _charred skeleton _at my _feet, _I will turn you into a sulphuric _smear_ on the _WALL!"_

* * *

><p>Maxwell watched the sheet of glass as the silhouette disappeared, and he saw the blue words again, saying,<br>"Initiating Mental Interface..."  
>Not again! Maxwell quickly tried to set the glass down: He didn't want anything in his head aga-<br>Maxwell blacked out. In the darkness of unconciousness, he saw the slihouette again. It said,  
>"Alright, let's begin. Everything you've read in the history books is the truth, just...not all of it. We wanted to bury this incident deep down, so nobody would want to try this again, and relive our mistakes."<br>Maxwell suddenly saw a massive, advanced white city. Valkyries flew back and forth from the buildings, holographic billboards lined the streets, and the sky was streaked by red and purple as the sun set in the west-  
>Wait a minute.<br>The sun was setting.  
>Maxwell heard the voice say,<br>"Our technological era. In this era, technological advancement raced forward faster than ever, and this advancement was partially due to one man."  
>Maxwell jumped a bit as he saw a still frame of a green eyed, bespectacled Valkyrie, but even with these minor changes, Maxwell recognized him instantly. Gravitite. The voice said,<br>"This is Benedict Kar-dign. He was a scientist, more specifically, a Geneticist. He was also working on these."  
>Maxwell saw Benedict dissipate, and he was replaced by a golden glowing orb, surrounded by five other stones. One was a deep blue orb, one was an orange ball of fire, one was a ball of moss, one was a rock, and one was a red glowing crystal. Maxwell recognized it as the shard in Gravitite's chest. The voice said,<br>"The six ancient gems. Mysical stones of unknown origin, which were prophesied to grant their users incredible power, when the time came."  
>Suddenly, the stones disappeared, and were replaced by a two men, wearing crowns, looking each other in the eye, grimacing. One had blonde hair and a beard, and one was young, with blue hair.<br>"Now, being such a technologicaly advanced race at the time, we had things like countries, borders...and wars. The king of Cloud City, King Heimdall, and the king of Aerterra, Antony, were locked in a long, brutal war. Benedict was on the side of Cloud City, and he was determined to improve their army. His plan was to genetically alter Moas, to turn them into a fighting force. But the king wasn't convinced."

King Heimdall sat on his throne, next to his Queen, Hippolita. Benedict stood before them. He had just presented an odd idea. Altering Moas? The birds? What good could they do in a war?  
>"Benedict..." Heimdall said, "In what way could a Moa ever surpass a Valkyrian warrior? The intelligence of a Moa is-"<br>"Well..." Benedict said,  
>"Well...there Is a way around that."<p>

"Benedict," The voice said, "Proposed that he could infuse Altered Moa DNA into a Valkyrie, giving him a mental link with them. The king, of course, gave Benedict a huge, resounding no. However..."  
>Maxwell saw a new image, one of Benedict standing next to four Valkyries, all strapped to chairs. One of them was heavily scarred, but Maxwell still recognized him. That was Veronus! The voice continued,<br>"Benedict continued his project in secret, with the aid of the general of the Cloud city army, Veronus. Veronus aided Benedict in exchange for one thing. He wanted to control the new army. Benedict agreed, and Veronus chose three of his best soldiers, Horus, Demetri, and Malakin to join him. Benedict altered them. And..."  
>The voice was silent for a moment. It then said,<br>"On closer examination of your cerebral cortex, it would appear that you have met them before. You know what they look like. Benedict managed to alter the Moas, and he gave them a new name. Cockatrices. They gained the ability to spit poison, fly, and reproduce faster than rabbits. And then, the unthinkable happened."  
>The frame changed to Veronus, standing on a rock, his soldiers flanking him, and behind them, thousands of Cockatrices.<br>"Veronus turned on Benedict. He destroyed Benedict's lab, and left him for dead. Then, he stormed Cloud City, looking to take King Heimdall's throne."

The sound of glass shattering, and Valkyries screaming filled the night air. Hippolita and Heimdall hid inside their castle.  
>"What's happening?!" Hippolita cried.<br>Heimdall replied, "I don't know. Stay here."  
>Heimdall walked away, and looked out the window. What were those things?! They flew through the air, their eyes and feathers glowed in the dark-<br>Feathers.  
>Heimdall looked closer. They looked likee Moas. But they were green! Their eyes were glowing yellow! Heimdall watched as a man ran away, only to recieve a dart from one of the beasts.<br>Benedict! Benedict had done this! He had disobeyed a direct-  
>One of the birds saw him. It squawked, and flew towards the window. Heimdall moved as it rammed through the window. It's powerful talons hit the foor with a click. Heimdall drew his sword, and as the bird ran at him, he jumped over it, planting his sword's blade firmly into it's back. It fell over, twitched, and then finally laid still. Heimdall pulled his sword out of the animal.<br>Oh, he was going to _kill _that insolent-  
>He heard more squawing out the window, and flew back to Hippolita.<p>

The voice said, "The Cockatrices laid waste to Cloud City. Heimdall, Hippolita, and remaining survivors prepared to flee. One of the survivors was Benedict."

Heimdall opened the door to Benedict's lab, wearing purple armor, infuriated. He shouted,  
>"<em>Benedict!<em>"  
>A groan came from a corner of the destroyed laboratory. Heimdall ran over to where Benedict laid, under a pile of rubble. Heimdall helped him up, saying,<br>"Benedict, what have you _done?!_"  
>"I...I thought I could make them better. I never imagined Veronus would do this!"<br>"Wait, you altered _Veronus?!_"  
>Heimdall put his arm under Benedict, and helped him out of the lab. Benedict said in a quivering voice,<br>"The gems! Get the gems!"  
>Heimdall looked over his shoulder. The six gems were glowing, scattered across the floor. What was that about? Heimdall set Benedict down, picked up a sack that was on the floor, and started to stuff the gems into it. Before he could grab the golden one, however, it started to glow even brighter. Suddenly, it lifted off of the floor, and up to Heimdall's eye level! Heimdall stared at it. Heimdall heard a voice whisper,<br>"The time has come. You are worthy."  
>Suddenly, it lowered, and slammed itself into Heimdall's chestplate. Heimdall flew backwards, and then, everything was dark.<p>

Heimdall woke up a moment later, to Benedict shaking him. Benedict's voice was muffled. He had a look of awe on his face. Heimdall looked at his hands: His gloves had turned silver, trimmed with gold! He looked down at himself, and at his cape. They had all turned the same color. Heimdall looked at a piece of broken glass. His eyes had turned gold, his hair pure white. And embedded in his chestplate, was the Ancient Gem. It had chosen him. Heimdall was speechless. Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him, not Benedict's. It was kind of...squawky.  
>"Get up!"<br>Heimdall paused.  
>"I said <em>get up!<em>"  
>Heimdall slowly got to his feet.<br>"Now turn around, hotshot!"  
>Heimdall slowly turned around. He saw Demetri, holding Hippolita, a sword to her throat. Demetri's foot pinned Benedict to the ground. Demetri had changed. His hair was green with purple streaks, his eyes were yellow, and his armor was green. Demetri and Hippolita's eyes widened. Hippolita said,<br>_"Heimdall? _What happened to-"  
>Demetri shook her, and shouted,<br>"_Quiet!_"  
>Heimdall's face contorted in rage. Demetri looked at him, and grinned.<br>"Ah, I don't care if you changed a bit. Veronus is gonna _love _this! Now..."  
>Demetri pressed the sword against Hippolita's throat. She looked Heimdall in the eyes.<br>"Do you have any last words?"  
>Demetri looked at Heimdall. Was it just him, or was he getting...brighter? Heimdall started to shake, his fury reaching a breaking point. Heimdall said,<br>"Last words? Fine. You are going to PUT..."  
>There was no question, Heimdall was glowing!<br>"_HER_..."  
>His voice had gotten louder. Demetri thought he should probably just kill them and get it over wi-<br>"_DOWN!_"  
>His voice boomed so loudly that Demetri was sent flying back, the glass on the floor shattered even more, and the building's foundation rumbled. A blinding light emanated from Heimdall, making Demetri cover his eyes, and when Demetri looked back again, Heimdall, Hippolita, Benedict, and the sack were gone.<p>

Heimdall set Benedict on the ground, beyond the borders of Cloud City. Hippolita landed next to him. Heimdall looked at his hands. He had been chosen. The Ancient Gem chose him. He had heard the legends of...what did they call him again? The Gilded Valkyrie? Heimdall could feel his mind changing, he felt the collective wisdom of the ancient Valkyries surging to his mind. He heard a faint voice say, "There are other worthy ones. Find them."

* * *

><p>"And Heimdall did. The Valkyrie's technologically advanced society had collapsed. They fled, far away from the Cockatrices. They started again. Rebuilt society. Heimdall, Hippolita, and three others became rulers, and for 200 years they ruled.<strong>*<strong> Heimdall became Lusonus, the master of Light and sound. Hippolita became Natura, master of plants. Murdock, the blacksmith of Vulcaneum, became Pyros, master of fire, and Bartholemew, the farmer of the forests of Kliffwood, became Terra, master of earth and rock. And Heimdall's most bitter rival..."

Maxwell, his ears still ringing from earlier, saw an image of Antony, wearing blue and gold armor, his hair, eyes, and wings having turned a deep blue, with his arm on Lusonus's shoulder, both of them grinning.

"Became his closest friend. King Antony of Aerterra, became Neptune, master of water. They lived by a code of conduct, known as The Three Virtues. Peace, Humility, and Forgiveness. But what of Benedict?"

Maxwell saw an image of Gravitite sitting in a laboratory, but not _nearly _as well equipped as his other one. There were test tubes, of course, and that was about it. He was in a shack made of wood, working with chemicals. But on a table, Maxwell saw one of the Ancient Gems. It was the shard of Gravitite. Maxwell had an uneasy feeling about this...

Benedict sat in a chair, looking at all the meager equipment, broodingly. He hated this place. There was no _way _he could get any work done here! The old ways were gone, and the Elders would never let them come back. Benedict knew it was his fault. The rage festered in him, knowing that if he had just never made the Cockatrices...

He had to fix this. He had to right his greatest wrong. Even if it meant going against the elder's wishes. But how? He stood up, and walked around the lab. If the council found out he was trying to bring back the old ways, he had to be able to resist if they tried to stop him. But what was he going to do? All of the ancient gems were under their-

Hang on.

Not _all _the ancient gems were under their control.

* * *

><p>The two Valkyrie guards stood outside the vault. The vault was a large zanite door, in a cave in one of the islands on the outskirts of Ambrosium City. The guards conversed, their helmets off. Two Valkyrie women flew by the opening in the cave, and the guards waved, winking at her. They turned their heads, showing their crests<strong>**<strong>. The girls giggled, and flew on. The guards stared after them, and one of them whistled. Suddenly, a big rock hit one on the back of the head, knocking him out. Before the other one knew what was going on, he was knocked out too. Benedict walked out from the shadows in the cave, rubbing his arms. He _had _to find an easier way to do that. He swiped the keys off of one of the unconscious guards, walked over to the vault, turned the key in the lock. He looked along the ceiling of the cave. He grinned. One of the greatest mistakes of the new ways of the Aether:

No security cameras.

He walked into the vault. It was lit by glowstone embedded in the walls and floor. But he was focused on what was in the center. He walked towards the glowing red shard of Gravitite. Pure, untainted, Gravitite. He grabbed it, stuffed it in his pocket spread his wings, and flew away as quickly as he could.

* * *

><p>Lusonus sat at the dining table among his fellow elders. Natura was on his left, Neptune on his right, and down the rest of the table were Pyros and Terra. They were all talking, sharing stories, and laughing. Suddenly, a messenger walked in. Lusonus looked at him, and said,<br>"Ah, Farthing. What news do you bring?"  
>Farthing said,<br>"Well, um...The vault has sent an urgent message. There has been a robbery."

* * *

><p>Benedict stepped away. Nearly finished. He looked it over: It looked acceptable. It was a set of armor, made out of Obsidian. Normally, Obsidian isn't a good material for making armor, but Benedict had managed to refine it. Make it stronger. There was an indentation in the middle. Spreading out form the center were circuits made from some material he had managed to buy off the black market. What was it called again? Redstone? Anyway, it was from one of those shady guys who claimed he made it to the core. Not that he believed a word of it, but he had to admit, the man sold pretty useful stuff. With this redstone configuration, just <em>maybe...<em>

He looked at the red glowing shard in his hand.

Maybe the gem would accept him. Gravitite looked at the armor. It was time.

After he had put the armor on, he picked up the only thing he had been able to salvage from the wreckage of Cloud City: A video recorder, and put it on a table, and pressed the record button. He said,  
>"Alright, Project Gravitite...test one."<br>He held up the shard of Gravitite, and prepared to set it in the indentation in the chest. As he prepared to set the shard in his chest, the door slammed open, and the elders themselves ran in, flanked by armed guards. Benedict jumped back, and said,  
>"St-stay back!"<br>Pyros said,  
>"Benedict, what are you <em>doing?!<em>"  
>Benedict looked around. He said,<br>"I'm sorry. This is for all of us."  
>He slammed the shard into his chestplate. The shard fused with the armor, and began to glow. Benedict felt the warmth of the gem, he felt it's power surging through him. His crest of hair turned dark purple, and his eyes turned red. Then, he took a deep, breath. He grinned. He turned to Lusonus and the other elders. Terra said,<br>"Benedict, what have you done to that gem?!"  
>"What, did you think the gem would accept me by choice? I had to <em>make <em>it accept me! And now, I-"  
>Benedict paused. The gem really <em>was <em>warm. It was getting a bit hot. Benedict put his hand to his chest. The gem began to vibrate. Lusonus said,  
>"Don't you see, Benedict? We don't need to stop you. The gem will do that for us."<br>Benedict's eyes widened. The gem began to vibrate even more, and it started to emit a sound, growing higher and higher pitched with each passing second. Something was terribly wrong. Lusonus shouted,  
>"Everybody out!"<br>The elders ran out of the room, as Benedict tried to take off the armor, but the gem, with a final blinding glow, exploded. Benedict's reinforced obsidian armor shattered.

Lusonus, Natura, Terra, Neptune, and Pyros ducked for cover as Benedict's shack exploded in a red cloud. Lusonus looked behind him. Benedict's laboratory was a smoldering crater. It was a good thing his lab was secluded: people could have been really hurt. But what about Benedict? Was he...?  
>The elders flew over to the crater. Lusonus's eyes widened when he saw what was in the middle. It was Benedict! h laid in the center of the crater, blood staining the chest of his shirt. Lusonus flew over to Benedict, and looked at his chest. He was beaten up pretty badly, but he could still be alive.<p>

* * *

><p>"And he was." The narrator said.<br>"Benedict survived the blast from the Gravitite, and for all the elders knew, the shard of Gravitite was destroyed. Lusonus, and the other elders locked Benedict in the deepest, darkest prison they could find, and that's where he stayed."  
>Maxwell saw the image dissipate, and then he saw an image of a prison.<p>

* * *

><p>Benedict sat in his prison cell, on his bed. One of the guards were passing by, and Benedict shot him a glare. The guard looked at him, rolled his eyes, and kept walking. Benedict looked across the hallway. The beast sat in his cell. Nobody knew where he came from. All they knew was that he had destroyed an entire village. He may be a good ally, if Benedict could get him on his side. He looked like the top half of a man, but made of fire, with burning red eyes. He was bound by the hands in his cell. The beast sat, unmoving. Benedict said quietly,<br>"Hey."  
>The beast said nothing.<br>"I'm Benedict."  
>Still, nothing.<br>"You have a name, don't you?"  
>The beast, after a moment, slowly nodded. Benedict waited for a moment, and said,<br>"Well...?"  
>The beast looked him in the eyes, and after another silent moment, said slowly,<br>"Geothyllid."  
>"Where are you from?"<br>Geothyllid turned away, as if he didn't want to say. Benedict had to keep this going. He said,  
>"I have a question. Do you want to get out of here?"<br>Geothyllid turned back to Benedict, a look of surprise on his face. Geothyllid said,  
>"How?"<br>Benedict said,  
>"Well..."<br>Benedict concentrated all of his energy on a rock on the floor, and aimed his hand at it. A red bubble shot out of his hand, enveloped the rock, and the rock fell to the ceiling.  
>"I have my methods."<p>

* * *

><p>"And so, an alliance was forged between Benedict and Geothyllid. As they learned more about each other, Benedict found out that Geothyllid was no mere monster. He was a physicist. And Benedict found Geothyllid's true origins. Geothyllid was very far from home. Benedict offered to send Geothyllid home, if Geothyllid would help Benedict attain his ends. Geothyllid agreed..."<br>Maxwell saw an image of the prison being engulfed in flames.  
>"And they escaped from prison. Benedict attained the ability to control gravity from the explosion. When the armor shattered, the gem and the redstone embedded themselves in Benedict's chest, forcing the gem to accept Benedict. Benedict and Geothyllid fled far away, but they both knew: To overthrow a kingdom, you needed an army."<p>

* * *

><p>Veronus, Horus, Demetri, and Malakin sat on their thrones, made of sticks and leaves, watching a Cockatrice jester perform a balancing act. It balanced all of it's weight perfectly on the tip of it's beak. The four kings clapped. Suddenly, the wall began to glow orange, and suddenly, melted in a cascade of lava. Veronus, Malakin, Horus, and Demetri took cover. They looked at the new opening in the wall. Suddenly, a Valkyrie flew through the hole, followed by...<br>The beast?!  
><em>Wait a minute...<em>Veronus thought. He recognized that Valkyrie! Benedict?! Benedict stood in the center of the throne room, and as the jester ran out, Benedict said,  
>"Veronus! I know you're in here!"<br>Veronus stayed hidden. He knew that he had easily defeated Benedict before, but now it looked like he had the beast on his side! Benedict turned towards the thrones Veronus and the other three kings were hiding behind. Benedict raised his arms, and, channeling his anger, shot out four gravity bubbles, and flung the chairs to the ceiling, revealing the four cowering hybrids. Benedict glared at them. Veronus stood up, and said,  
>"What do you want?!"<br>Benedict turned to them. He said,  
>"I'm here to get your help."<br>"What?"  
>Benedict said,<br>"You stole everything I knew from me. And you're going to help me get it back."  
>Veronus stammered. Here was Benedict, barging in here, and now, he wanted them to <em>help <em>him?! Veronus said,  
>"You expect us to help you, just like that?! Absolutely not!"<br>Benedict's expression darkened even more. He gestured to the beast.  
>"Have you met him?"<br>Veronus was silent.  
>"His name's Geothyllid. He's actually a physicist, you know. He taught me a few interesting things about gravity. Like..."<br>He shot a gravity bubble at a large rock, and it floated in the air, and began to levitate.  
>"If something shrinks..."<br>The rock began to crush in on itself.  
>"But still retains it's mass..."<br>As the rock crumbled inward on itself, the four kings saw that other smaller rocks were beginning to move towards it.  
>"It makes what he calls, a 'Black Hole'."<br>The rock crumbled into nearly nothing, and as it did, it turned black, then, everything in the room was beginning to be drawn to it, including the kings. Suddenly, a Black Hole formed where the rock was, and the four kings grabbed onto whatever was available to stop themselves from getting sucked in. Benedict shot a gravity bubble at Geothyllid to stop him from being pulled in. Geothyllid stared in horror, as Malakin suddenly lost his grip, and was flung, screaming, into the black hole. Benedict saw that the building was beginning to destabilize, so he dissipated the Black Hole. Veronus, Horus, and Demetri fell to the floor. Benedict said calmly,  
>"You get how this works now?"<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell stared at the spectacle as the narrator continued,<br>"And the four kings became Benedict's three platoon leaders. He moved into the ruins of Cloud City, and began to work. He prepared to lay siege to Ambrosium City, but the elders had other ideas. They attempted to stop him."

Maxwell saw an image of the elders in heated combat with the hordes of Cockatrices, and Benedict battling Lusonus. Then, the image dissipated.

"But it was not to be. Most of the Cockatrices were exterminated, but the elders..."

Maxwell saw an image of Neptune's helmet, laying among the elders. They laid still. The battlefield was clear. There wasn't a soul in sight. Then, Maxwell noticed something. Lusonus's armor! It wasn't there! Then, Maxwell saw movement, under a pile of rubble. A hand burst through the pile of rocks. Lusonus climbed out. He was okay! Wait a second...when Lusonus climbed out of the rubble, one of his wings were bent askew, and he walked with a heavy limp. He looked around, seeing the elders lying across the ground. He shook his head. He looked at where Natura laid. Hippolita! He limped over to her, and picked her up in his arms. He felt her neck. He put his ear to her chest. Nothing. Tears flooded his eyes.

Maxwell was starting to choke up too. He saw Lusonus limp over to where Neptune was, and he heard Lusonus say,  
>"Neptune. I swear to you, brother. Your daughter is safe."<br>Maxwell heard the narrator continue,  
>"And Lusonus fled, and when he returned to Ambrosium City, he went into hiding. Neptune had a daughter, who was very young at the time. Lusonus took her under his wing. He raised her, with his own daughter."<br>Maxwell was getting the oddest sense of Deja Vu. He couldn't put his foot on it, though.  
>"Nobody had heard from Benedict since, but one can safely assume that he is rebuilding his Cockatrice army. Shortly thereafter, the sun stopped moving. Nobody knew how. Ambrosium City was in an eternal day. A while later, Notch came to Ambrosium City, and reported the news. Then, he told the prophecy of the Gilded Valkyrie. It foretold the coming of a new Gilded Valkyrie, who would reassamble the elders, and return to defend the Aether once again. The prophecy said:<p>

_The Gilded Valkyrie is coming,  
>but not in the same form as before.<em>

_Another one must inherit the armor,  
>because the first one is no more.<em>

_One with no wings, but with skill, and heart,  
>must come to our realm, and then he must start<br>his journey._

_It is Gravitite he must defeat  
>for his quest to be complete.<em>

_And his powers will he not earn, until the three virtues he has learned._

_To become the Gilded Valkyrie._"  
>Maxwell heard the narrator continue,<br>"And you, Maxwell, must fulfill this prophecy. The Aether relies on you to defend it. But before you embark on your quest, there is one more piece of information you require."  
>Maxwell saw an image of the narrator as he spoke. Maxwell's eyes widened.<br>"King Heimdall was no mere player in a story. He was me."

Suddenly, Maxwell found himself on the Inn room's floor. He slowly got up. He looked at the piece of glass: it was shattered. Then, the shock came back. The narrator! He was Lusonus! And Lusonus...he wasn't just another Valkyrie!

He was _Mercury!_

* * *

><p><strong>*Valkyries have an extended lifespan, sometimes extending to 700 years or more. They age normally until early adulthood, and then, the aging process comes to a near standstill. Why do races like this always live longer than us?<br>****  
>**The following is supplementary information on Valkyrie ornamental displays: Valkyries are attracted to many of the same things that humans are, but they also share some of these particular aspects with birds. For example, Male Valkyries sport elegant plumage, arranging their hair into a crest-like formation, attracting females. The larger, more flamboyant the crest, the more physically fit the male appears. <strong>


	15. Chapter 14: Escape

Matilda sat in her room, quietly. She looked out the window. She saw some Zephyrs flying around on the outskirts of Ambrosium City. They looked like clouds. That was how they hunted. They would hide in the sky, where Phygs and Aether Cows would walky by, unaware. Then, the Zephyrs would lunge in, and attack. It was on odd mix of primal instinct, and strategic intelligence. There was a knock on her door. She turned, and said,  
>"Come in."<br>When the door opened, Maxwell ran in, carrying...  
>Broken glass? He began to frantically mumble nonsense, but Matilda heard the words 'Gravitite', 'Mercury', and 'Elders'. Matilda held out her hands and said,<br>"Maxwell! Maxwell! What's going on?"  
>Maxwell stammered, shook his head, and held up the broken glass. He said,<br>"We need to go!"  
>"Go where?"<br>Maxwell stammered again. He didn't know where to go. He said,  
>"Where can we find the Gilded Valkyrie's armor?!"<br>What was he babbling about? Matilda asked,  
>"Why?"<br>Maxwell started to stutter again, and Matilda said,  
>"Maxwell, just calm down, <em>sit <em>down, and tell me what happened!"  
>Maxwell walked in, set the broken glass on the desk, and sat on the bed. He shook his head. He said,<br>"You know the History of the Aether? Those four volumes in the archives?"  
>"Yes..."<br>"Well, I found Volume five."  
>Matilda cocked an eyebrow.<br>"But that's impossible. Only four volumes were ever written!"  
>Maxwell started to get worked up again. He turned to Matilda.<br>"_Exactly_! The fifth one wasn't _written_, it got inside my _head!_ I saw everything that happened! With Gravitite, with Geothyllid, with the first elders of Ambrosium City, everything!"  
>Matilda saw Maxwell's expression. He was dead serious.<p>

* * *

><p>Aeris flew above the streets, her shift at the library finished. She had heard about what had happened to Mercury, and she just wanted to stop by the inn to see how Matilda was holding up. Even though Aeris knew Matilda wasn't particularly fond of her.<p>

Aeris shook off the thought. She could at least _try _to be nice. I mean, one of the three virtues is peace. Aeris was so caught up in her thoughts, that she barely noticed the giant fiery being lowering out of the sky behind her, accompanied by Gravitite.

* * *

><p>Maxwell and Matilda stood up as the building began to shake. Matilda and Maxwell looked out the window to see an entire house flying through the air! Matilda started to talk quickly, and she grabbed her armor and sword.<br>"I need to get to my platoon. The city hasn't even recovered from the Cockatrice attack yesterday, who knows how much Ambrosium City can take at this point."  
>She turned to Maxwell, and said,<br>"Maxwell, you need to get on a Moa and get out of here."  
>"Forget it!"<br>"Maxwell-"  
>"I'm not just going to leave you guys here to get-"<br>Aeris burst through the door. She sighed in relief when she saw Maxwell and Matilda, saying  
>"You're alright! Now come on! We need to go <em>now!<em>"

* * *

><p>Acacius shouted<br>"Quickly, dear, quickly!"  
>As his wife flew out of the back exit of the castle. She turned to Acacius, and asked,<br>"Aren't you coming?"  
>"I need to do what I can here! I'll find you!"<br>Tears streaming down her face, she embraced Acacius, and then, flew away at top speed. Acacius, his face stony, walked away, wearing his Zanite armor. He walked down the hallways, and into the palace room. He picked up his staff, and waited. The guards flanked him, and drew their swords.

* * *

><p>Veronus sat in his cell, listening contentedly to the sounds from outside. The sounds drew closer, and he looked to the guard outside his cell. The guard grimaced at him. Veronus just grinned, and said,<br>"Five...four...three...two...one."  
>The guard suddenly began to glow red, and he was flung out from Veronus's view. Veronus watched as Gravitite walked in front of his cell. Veronus grinned. Gravitite shot gravity bubbles at the bars, and bent them outwards. Gravitite said simply,<br>"Let's move. We have a human to dispose of."  
>Veronus, walking forward, said,<br>"You read my mind."

* * *

><p>Acacius stood in the throne room. He watched as the wall in front of him suddenly began to glow red, then crumble, their weight suddenly increased hundreds of times over. Acacius brandished his staff, and the guards flanking him brandished their swords as the wall crumbled, and through the cloud of dust, Gravitite, wearing full obsidian armor, the shard in his chest glowing, walked through. Next to him walked Veronus, and behind them both came a brilliant orange glow, and after them floated Geothyllid. They stopped, and Acacius and the invaders stood off. Gravitite looked Acacius in the eye. Acacius said,<br>"What do you want, Benedict?"  
>Gravitite replied,<br>"Didn't you hear? I go by Gravitite now."  
>Acacius, his golden staff glinting in the light of Geothyllid's fire, said slowly,<br>"Why are you here?"  
>"You have someone I want. And I want him immediately. Maxwell."<br>Acacuis said with resolution,  
>"You'll never have him."<br>Gravitite's obsidian gloves glowed red. Veronus bared his teeth. The guards prepared to attack. Then, Gravitite's gloves stopped glowing, he turned, his dark purple cape flowing in the breeze. He walked away, saying,  
>"If you won't tell me where he is, I'll just find him myself. Geothyllid. Veronus. Take them down."<br>Geothyllid's flames rose even higher as both sides ran at each other.

* * *

><p>Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda ran through the alleyways, and Maxwell quickly ducked behind a crate when he heard a familiar voice. Aeris kept running and Maxwell yanked her back. When she protested, he covered her mouth. Maxwell looked across the alley, and Matilda was hiding behind the crate on the opposite side. They heard the clicking of obsidian on the pavement. Gravitite walked past the opening of the alley. He looked down the alley. Just some boxes. He kept walking. After the sounds of his boots faded, Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda stood up, and ran in the opposite direction.<p>

As Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda left the alleyway and ran into the street, Maxwell looked up at the large wooden silos that they were next to. He wondered what that would be for. Suddenly, a fireball landed directly next to them. The leaped back as Acacius landed in the street, sliding backwards. He was pretty beaten up. Veronus landed on his feet in front of him, and Geothyllid floated down. Matilda ran over to Acacius, and said,  
>"King Acacius! Are you alright?"<br>Veronus looked at Maxwell, and grinned. Veronus said slyly,  
>"Well well well. If it isn't flightless!"<br>He turned to Geothylid, and said,  
>"Hey Geo! Looks like the old man can wait!"<br>Geothyllid turned to Maxwell. Maxwell's mind raced. A strategy formulated in his head.

Geothyllid.  
>Fire being.<br>Water beats fire.  
>Water sources?<br>Oceans.  
>Rivers.<br>Rain.  
>Rain. The Aether didn't get rain, it was above cloud level. So, they had to get their water by a different means. Maxwell had seen waterfalls coming out of the islands, but extracting water from waterfalls could get dicey. They probably harvested it, and kept it in storehouses for later use somewhere...<p>

Geothyllid raised his hands as Maxwell looked up at the silos. Geothyllid shot fire at Maxwell, but Maxwell ducked and rolled away. He shouted,  
>"Inventory, crafting table!"<br>He placed the crafting table, pulled out some sticks and iron, quickly crafted an axe, and ran at the silos. Veronus thought to himself,  
><em>What is this human doing?<em>  
>Maxwell shouted to Matilda and Aeris,<br>"Everybody get out of here!"  
>Maxwell threw his axe at the silos, and the blade dug into the wood. Water started to leak out. Veronus flew at Maxwell as Maxwell pulled out the axe, and landed another blow, and suddenly, the silo collapsed. Matilda picked up Acacius, and her and Aeris flew into the air as Maxwell, Veronus, and Geothyllid were caught in the flood.<p>

Aeris and Matilda watched as Maxwell was swept into the raging current. Aeris quickly swooped down above the water, and grabbed Maxwell as he surfaced, gasping. Her wings flapped furiously, and Maxwell was lifted out of the water. Maxwell was soaked, and he looked down at his belt. His inventory box was gone. It must have washed away. Wonderful. Maxwell looked in the distance. The water from the silos was running through the city, and finally pouring over the edge of the island, and down to earth.

* * *

><p>Andrew walked through the forest, lost in thought. He had left the boundaries of Notchton for an hour or two, to go clear his head. Was Gravitite speaking for all of the Valkyries, or was he just acting on his own? Did the Valkyries <em>really <em>figure out how to manipulate gravity? If they were to suddenly declare war on Notchton, the situation would be hopeless. If an army of gravity wielding Valkyries attacked the city, there was nothing anybody could do. Notchton had made some considerable advances since the University was founded, but they still didn't have anything to counter gravity. As Andrew thought about this, a rain drop landed on his head.

Huh?

He looked up. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. Then, another rain drop landed on his shoulder. Then another on his forehead. Suddenly, it started pouring down rain, and Andrew ran under a tree for cover. He looked around. Where was all of this water coming from? Then, he heard something else.

_Thunk._

He looked to his left, where the noise had come from. Something else had fallen with the rain! He walked over to it, and picked it up. His eyes widened. An inventory box?! Andrew turned it over, and looked at the bottom. On it was written the word

"Maxwell"


	16. Chapter 15: Refugees

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda, carrying Acacius, looked out over Ambrosium City. Smoke billowed out from the rooftops, and entire houses were displaced. The water from the silo helped with the fires, but Gravitite was still there. Aeris turned away, tears streaming down her face. Matilda just looked ahead stoically, anger on her face. She turned around, and said,  
>"Come on. We need to get to the refugee camp."<br>Aeris nodded through tears. Maxwell asked,  
>"Refugee camp? Where is it?"<br>"In the event of a major attack on Ambrosium City, we have a designated site to set up a refugee camp. So that's where we're going."  
>Maxwell nodded. He put his arm around Aeris, and the group walked away.<p>

* * *

><p>A large metallic shape lurched through the streets. It was a bronze color, and as it clambered down the street with it's hands, it groaned. The metallic shape finally got to a building. Geothyllid pushed himself up, and leaned his back against the building. His fire had burned out, and his gas release pores had long since clogged up. Without something to burn out the clogs...<br>Geothyllid groaned as his metallic shell creaked, struggling to hold in the gaseous buildup. Suddenly, Geothyllid heard footsteps. Veronus stumbled through the streets behind Gravitite. Gravitite walked up to Geothyllid. He said,  
>"So. I heard you found him. How did <em>that <em>go?"  
>Geothyllid gasped,<br>"Master, please...help me..."  
>Gravitite said,<br>"I gave you _one _job!"  
>"But I..."<br>Gravitite was already walking away. Geothyllid said,  
>"No! Please! Master!"<br>Veronus looked at Geothyllid. He said to Gravitite,  
>"Sir, don't you think there could still be a use for a fire-guy?"<br>Gravitite turned to Veronus, and said,  
>"Would you tell me how to do my job, Veronus?"<br>"No sir, but...you know...burning stuff can sure come in handy."  
>Gravitite clenched his teeth. He was furious. But what was even more angering was that the dumb hybrid had a point. Geothyllid had his uses, even when he <em>did <em>mess up a job. Gravitite turned around and walked up to Geothyllid. He said,  
>"Alright, Geothyllid. <em>One more chance.<em> Fail me again, it'll be the last thing you do."  
>Gravitite punched his glove on a wall, sending sparks flying to Geothyllid. Some of them landed on him, and Geothyllid suddenly burst into flames. He floated into the air, and said,<br>"Thank you, master! I won't fail you again!"  
>Gravitite's expression remained unchanged. He said,<br>"Pray you don't."  
>As Gravitite walked away, Veronus turned to Geothyllid, and said,<br>"You owe me _big._"

* * *

><p>Andrew walked into the castle, holding the inventory box. As he walked down the hallway, Horatio walked out of the lab to Andrew's right. Andrew hurried to Horatio, and said,<br>"Horatio! Did you see that rain shower?"  
>"Yeah, what was <em>that <em>all about?"  
>"Well, I just found a clue."<br>Andrew held up the inventory box with Maxwell's name on it.  
>"<em>This<em> fell down with it."  
>Horatio's purple eyes grew wide as he took the box. He said,<br>"Come with me."  
>Andrew followed Horatio into the laboratory, and when they finally got to the large room, Horatio teleported to a desk with various tools on it. He set the box on it, saying,<br>"If this really came off of Maxwell while he was in the Aether, it should have kept a record of the items it's kept in it. It has a tendency to spontaneously collect items. We would have worked that glitch out, but it was left due to it's record keeping value. Looks like that could pay off right about now."  
>Horatio picked up a crowbar, and pried the top off of the box. He pulled out a small iron chip with redstone circuitry weaved across the surface. He put it in the disk drive of his computer, and the screen showed an image of Maxwell's inventory. Andrew saw a mess of random items, but Horatio nodded as if he understood something. Andrew asked,<br>"What do you see?"  
>"Well..." Horatio said, "Well, if you take a closer look, you'll see that he had various new materials in his box, and...is that broken glass? Anyway, he picked up some weird looking dirt, there's a few feathers, a <em>lot <em>of green and purple feathers, indicating that he was killing a whole lot of beings with those..."  
>Andrew asked,<br>"How can you tell that he killed animals to get those?"  
>"Well, his sword's durability is nearly depleted. And if you look here, what's missing?"<br>Andrew looked it over. He thought as he looked...what were the bare essentials for explorers? Some ender pearls, some wooden planks, a crafting-  
>"His crafting table's missing."<br>"Exactly. And if he had forgotten something that important, he must have been in a serious situation. Is that rain shower still going?"  
>Andrew nodded.<br>Horatio said,  
>"Just gimme a second."<br>Horatio teleported outside, and came back a moment later carrying a crafting table and an axe. Horatio said,  
>"These came down with the shower. If you'll look back at his inventory, you'll see that three of his ration of iron ingots, and two of his ration of sticks is gone. Wherever there was an empty slot, it's flooded with water, which means that it was completely submerged, indicating that Maxwell was at ground zero. And you can see that the axe wasn't in his hand, because it wasn't automatically put back in his inventory when he was done with it. And you can see shreds of wood clinging to the wet blade here..."<br>Horatio pointed to splinters of wood, clinging to the soaking wet axe. The wood seemed paler than normal wood. Horatio looked at Andrew.  
>"Andrew, Maxwell threw this axe at something made of wood, and immediately afterwards, there was a flood. He must have thrown his axe at some kind of dam or something."<br>Andrew asked,  
>"But why would Maxwell do that?"<br>Horatio said,  
>"Well, given our previous encounter with a Valkyrie, one plausible explanation springs to mind."<br>Horatio paused, then said,  
>"The feathers spamming his inventory, the water, the axe, the depleted sword, all of it fits together. Maxwell was defending himself. From the Valkyries."<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda traveled across the islands of the Aether to the camp site. Maxwell couldn't fly, and he had no Moa to ride on, so they weren't making very good time. At this rate, it could take a couple of hours to get to where they were going. Matilda stopped to rest. Carrying Acacius wearing zanite armor could definitely take a lot out of you. Aeris landed, and laid against a boulder. Maxwell sat on the ground. Matilda set Acacius on the ground. After a moment of silence, there was a groan. Everybody looked to the source of the sound. Aeris said,<br>"King Acacius?"  
>Acacius groaned again, and his eyes fluttered open. He sat up quickly, shouting,<br>"_Have at me, you wretched-_"  
>He stopped, realizing where he was. He sighed, and smiled weakly.<br>"Oh. It's just you."  
>Maxwell, grinning, said,<br>"Good to have you back, Ace."  
>Acacius asked,<br>"Where are the others? Surely there must have been-"  
>Maxwell replied,<br>"Oh, don't worry, we're going to catch up with them at the refugee camp."  
>Acacius sighed, saying,<br>"So we've lost, then. Ambrosium City is gone."  
>Matilda sighed, and said,<br>"There was nothing we could do."  
>Everyone was quiet again. After a while, Aeris asked Maxwell,<br>"Maxwell?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"About an hour before the attack, you asked for a safe. Did you ever find out what was in it?"  
>"Well, yeah. Remember the history of the aether? Those four volumes?"<br>Aeris nodded.  
>"Well..." Maxwell continued, "Well...I found volume 5."<br>Aeris and Acacius's eyes widened. Matilda asked,  
>"Yeah, what <em>did <em>that say?"  
>And Maxwell told them the story, from beginning to end. About how Benedict became Gravitite, about how to Cockatrices cam to being, and how the elders arose, and were defeated. But then, just as Maxwell was about to finish saying,<br>"And then I found out about Mercury! It turns out, Mercury was..."  
>Then, Maxwell saw Acacius waving his hands. Acacius stood behind Matilda, waving his hands in front of him, and mouthing<br>_No! No! No!  
><em>Maxwell slowly said,  
>"Mercury was the narrator. He must've been their chronicler or something."<br>Matilda shook her head in wonder, as Acacius sighed in relief.

* * *

><p>Gravitite walked through the burning city towards the castle. As he looked ahead, he saw Demetri running out of the castle towards him. Demetri, panting, knelt in front of Gravitite, and said,<br>"Your supreme sovereignty! I bring news of the utmost importance!"  
>Gravitite, rolling his eyes, said,<br>"What is it, Demetri?"  
>"Do you recall the page of a book that you used to build..."<br>Demetri struggled to find the name. Instead, he simply said,  
>"...That machine?"<br>Gravitite cocked an eyebrow, and said,  
>"Yes...?"<br>"I found the rest of them!

Gravitite walked into the vault in the depths of the castle's basement. The safe had been blown open, metal shrapnel littering the floor. Gravitite walked to the podium in the center of the vault. On it sat a small green book. Gravitite walked up to it, grinning like a kid in a candy store. He said,  
>"Well, Demetri, looks like you finally did something right! Gather the Cockatrices! We're done here!"<p> 


	17. Chapter 16: Time to Go

As Maxwell, Aeris, Matilda, and Acacius made their way to the refugee camp, Aeris and Matilda in front, Acacius and Maxwell lagging behind. As they walked, Maxwell said to Acacius,  
>"Mind explaining what that was about?"<br>"Explain what?"  
>"Well, you obviously didn't want me to tell Matilda that Neptune was her dad."<br>Acacius nodded. He said,  
>"Well, she will know in time."<br>"But why not now? Don't you think she has a right to know?"  
>"She does, just not now. Benedict Kar'dign became twisted because he dwelt in the past. Telling Matilda about her heritage, and giving her another reason to hate Gravitite would only do the same for her. If we told her about Neptune and Lusonus, she would almost certainly become irrational."<br>Maxwell thought about this. Acacius had a point. She had already lost Mercury and Helena, if she found out about her biological father too...  
>As Maxwell looked ahead, he saw something on the island floating in the distance. It was a bunch of beige lumps. He pointed to them, and asked,<br>"What are those?"  
>Aeris looked ahead, and said,<br>"Tents! That's the refugee camp!"

After Acacius was taken to be treated by the medics, and everyone found their lodging, Maxwell sat in his tent. He took his clock out of his pocket, and looked at the dial. It spun around aimlessly. Just like in the Nether, his clock was all out of wack. He wondered what time it actually was. It had to be late, there was no way the attack and the trek here could have taken so long. Oh, to the Nether with it, he was tired, and he was going to sleep. He laid on the floor, and slept.

Matilda patrolled the refugee camp, flying above the tents along with the others in what remained of the militia. She looked at the children, walking next to their mothers and fathers, most of the children badly shaken up. Some of them were so young that their wings were hardly developed. However, she couldn't stop thinking about what Maxwell had seen. She couldn't believe that she was adopted by someone who directly knew the original elders! There was something that just didn't sit right with her, though. Just before Maxwell had told her about Mercury, he had looked unsure of himself. Did he keep something from her?

Aeris sat on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the thousands of other tents, spread across the neighboring islands. She saw the black column of smoke, billowing out of what was once Ambrosium City. Were they ever going to go back? Or was this going to be just like that massive relocation that had happened hundreds of years ago, like Maxwell had told her? As she sat there, she thought. She knew that Maxwell was going to become the new Gilded Valkyrie. But who would the other elders be? Maybe Matilda, she could fight. But what about Aeris? She wondered if she could actually become an elder. No, that was impossible. She was thirteen years old! She could more or less hold her own in a fight, but she just couldn't see herself wearing the elder's armor. It just wasn't for her.

As Maxwell slept, he tossed and turned on the ground. He was having another dream. It was a series of still images of him, Aeris, and Matilda, fighting...things. Maxwell couldn't really make them out. Then, he saw a silhouette of a Valkyrie, a bright golden light shining behind him, his silver and gold armor glimmering. Then, he heard Notch's voice, saying,  
>"Time to go."<br>Maxwell's eyes opened. He slowly sat up.* There was no question about it. It was time.

* * *

><p>Gravitite walked through the hallways of the fiery realm called 'The Nether', clutching the book close to him, followed by thousands of Cockatrices, Geothyllid, Demetri, Veronus, and Horus. As Gravitite looked out the window, he saw miles of cavernous fiery landscapes, with massive white flying creatures in the sky. He looked across the landscape as he walked, seeing the lava, the Netherrack, the cobblestone-<p>

What?

What was cobblestone doing down here? As he looked, he saw a rectangle of cobblestone faintly in the distance. Then, the hallway entered a cave, and the view was gone. Gravitite would have to investigate that later. It looked like a hallway, but certainly not one of his. He looked ahead of him, and walked through the portal.

* * *

><p>"You want us to do <em>what<em>?"  
>Matilda exclaimed. Her, Maxwell, and Aeris stood on the outskirts of the refugee camp. Maxwell said,<br>"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I think it's gotten pretty clear that _we _need to defeat Gravitite. Don't ask me how, but I know what we need to do."  
>Aeris asked,<br>"Not to point out the obvious, but the oldest one here is you, and you're, what, 17?"  
>Maxwell nodded, and said,<br>"Well...we may be kids. Sure. But I know that we can find a way to defeat Gravitite. Notch does too. What more assurance do you want?"  
>Matilda looked at Aeris. Aeris looked at Matilda. Matilda wasn't too fond of her. And she knew that it was kind of immature to resent a 12 year old, but she just had an air about her that irritated Matilda. She looked at Maxwell. He looked at her and Aeris pleadingly. Matilda sighed. She said,<br>"You know I'd have to violate my orders by leaving my post, right?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Well, when Gravitite's gone, I'm sure they'll understand."  
>Aeris asked,<br>"Are you sure I won't just slow you guys down?"  
>Maxwell thought. He said,<br>"You know...I just realized, back home, our Council isn't that different from us three."  
>He turned to Matilda. He said,<br>"Matilda, you're just like the Councilwoman Robin! A warrior!"  
>He turned to Aeris.<br>"And Aeris, you're just like our Councilman Horatio! An inventor!"  
>Maxwell continued,<br>"And my Council took down a dragon, a Wither, and an evil overlord, and who knows what _else _they're gonna do! Sure, we may not be _exactly _the same, but I'm sure that we have what it takes! Now, all I'm asking is this. Will you guys fight with me?"  
>Aeris and Matilda looked at Maxwell. Aeris said,<br>"I'm with you!"  
>Maxwell looked at Matilda. Finally, she sighed, and said,<br>"So...where to first?"  
>Maxwell grinned.<p>

* * *

><p>*<strong>What, you think every dream like this has to end with the recipient shooting up, gaspingscreaming and sweating?**


	18. Chapter 17: Send Off

Acacius laid in his cot, wounded, his wife sitting next to him. The medics knew that he would be fine, but still, he was weak. As Acacius laid down, he heard footsteps approaching from outside. He sat up to see a Valkyrie commander walking into the tent. Acacius asked,  
>"Commander? What news do you bring?"<br>"Sir, one of our platoon leaders has gone AWOL, along with a young Valkyrie girl, and the Earth dweller!"  
>Acacius was silent. Then, to the commander's surprise, Acacius grinned. He looked at the commander, and said,<br>"It's alright, Commander. Let them go."

* * *

><p>As Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda began their trek across the islands of the Aether, Maxwell riding a blue Moa, Matilda and Aeris flying. Aeris looked down at Maxwell, and asked,<br>"So, Maxwell...how are we even gonna get to the other side of the planet, exactly?"  
>Maxwell thought about this, and said,<br>"I'm not sure how to get there yet...but I do know where to start."

Matilda looked ahead of Maxwell. In the distance, she saw a black lump on the ground. As she got a closer look, she saw that it was the charred remains of a house. Matilda's eyes widened.

_Her _house.

She quickly flew ahead of Maxwell and Aeris, and Aeris asked,  
>"What got into <em>her<em>? It's just some old burnt up house."  
>She looked at Maxwell, and saw the forlorn look on his face. Aeris asked,<br>"...Or is it?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"That house belonged to Matilda's step father. They were pretty close. He also had a little girl, a couple years younger than you. They were both in the house when it burned down."  
>"Wow, that's terrible."<br>"Yeah. Mercury took care of me when I first got here. He was a good guy."  
>Maxwell flew his Moa over the next gap, and landed on the island Mercury's house was on. Matilda just stood in front of the wreckage. She stared at the pile of charred skyroot where her house had once been. Maxwell dismounted from his Moa, and walked next to where Matilda stood. Matilda, her voice wavering slightly, asked,<br>"Why did you bring us here?"  
>Maxwell said to her,<br>"Well, Mercury was a chronicler for the elders, so maybe we can find something of use here."  
>Matilda nodded. Maxwell walked towards the ruins. He moved a burnt board, and walked into the barely standing structure of the house. He looked around inside. He breathed in soot, and coughed. Covering his mouth, he continued searching. Half of the roof had caved in, and he saw a gaping hole in the wall. He stepped into the hallway to his left, and Matilda and Aeris followed. There were two open doors on either side of the hallway. Maxwell turned to Matilda and Aeris, and said,<br>"Matilda, you check the one on the left, and Aeris, you stay in the hallway."  
>"Why do I have to stay here?"<br>"Just stay here. We'll be right back."  
>Maxwell walked into the room on the right, and Matilda, the one on the left.<p>

Matilda walked through the doorway, casting a shadow across the square of sunlight that shone through the open door. She recognized this room. It was Mercury's study. The room was dark. The Ambrosium torches had long since burnt out. She looked around, and saw something laying on the desk. She picked it up. In her hands she held a small stuffed Moa. It had belonged to Helena. Mercury had made it for her when she was just two years old. Helena never let it go. As she thought about this, memories flooded into her mind. She fought back tears, and put the stuffed Moa in her pocket. She wiped the tears away. She had to focus. She had to get some light in here, she could barely see. She opened a drawer. There were piles of shards of Ambrosium stacked inside. She picked one up, the yellow glow illuminating the room. She held up the shard, and looked around. She looked at the chair on the other side of the room. There was something in it. Something large and black. She walked over to it to investigate.

Maxwell looked around in what looked like a bedroom. He walked over to the bed, and he was about to look behind it, when suddenly, there was a scream from across the hall. Maxwell shot up and ran out the door, and before he could do anything, Matilda came running out of the door, and fell into Maxwell, crying on his shoulder. Aeris asked,  
>"Matilda, what's wrong?"<br>Matilda tried to speak, but couldn't. Maxwell wondered what was going on: Matilda certainly wasn't the squeamish type, she was a warrior! When Matilda finally let Maxwell go, Maxwell looked into the room. Matilda had dropped an Ambrosium shard where she stood, but the light illuminated what she had seen. Maxwell saw it, and quickly turned away. Aeris walked up to look, but Maxwell held out his hand and stopped her. Aeris asked,  
>"What? What's <em>in <em>there?!"  
>Maxwell, after a moment, replied,<br>"...Mercury."

Matilda sat on the floor as Maxwell slowly looked back into the study. There was no question about it. It was Mercury. He was burnt to a crisp. As Maxwell looked, he saw something in his hand. Something silver glinted in the light of the Ambrosium. Maxwell gulped, the slowly walked over to where Mercury sat. On Mercury's finger dangled a small chain, with a key attached to the end. Maxwell reached out, and took the chain out of Mercury's hand.

Matilda sat against the wall in the hallway, still reeling in shock from what she had just seen. Aeris stood a few feet from her quietly. Matilda looked up as Maxwell walked out of the doorway, holding a key on a chain. Maxwell held it up, and said softly,  
>"Mercury was holding this."<br>Tears welled up in Matilda's eyes again. She stood up. After a moment, she asked,  
>"What are we going to do? ...With Mercury?"<br>Maxwell thought, and said,  
>"Well...we can't just leave him here."<br>Maxwell looked back at the room, and said,  
>"He deserves a decent send-off."<p>

* * *

><p>Aeris, Maxwell, and Matilda stood around the mound of dirt, about a hundred yards from the remains of the house. At one end, his cane was stuck in the ground as a marker. The three stood around the grave, silent. Finally, Maxwell said,<br>"When I first got here, I had just been attacked by a Valkyrie minutes beforehand. I was pretty wary. When I woke up to see Mercury and Helena, I pulled my sword, and I most likely would have used it if Mercury didn't act the way he did. There was just something so...calm about him. He wasn't even scared, really, I guess you could say he knew I was shaken up pretty badly. When I finally got a grip, he took me to his home, and took care of me. I wasn't there for that long, but from the way he acted, you could tell he wasn't afraid of having me there for a while. He was a good ma-"  
>Maxwell caught himself.<br>"He was a good Valkyrie. Even when I had threatened to kill him, he never treated me badly. Everybody could learn a thing or two from him."  
>Maxwell looked around. Matilda had tears streaming down her face, and Aeris was looking pretty choked up herself. Maxwell said,<br>"Does anybody have anything to say before we move on?"  
>Aeris stepped forward, and said,<br>"We may not have really..._met_, but I'm happy to pay respect where it's due."  
>Aeris looked down at the mound where Mercury laid, and said,<br>"Well...rest easy, buddy. We'll make sure you won't be forgotten."  
>Maxwell smiled, and Matilda stepped forward. She knelt down in front of the mound, and said simply,<br>"Goodbye, dad. I love you."  
>And Matilda stood up, and walked away. Maxwell looked at the key in his hand. Aeris walked up next to Maxwell, and asked,<br>"So...have you figured out what that's for?"  
>Maxwell shook his head, and said,<br>"I don't know. We should probably finish looking through the house, maybe we'll find what this unlocks."  
>Aeris nodded, and said,<br>"Should we bring Matilda?"  
>Maxwell looked over to Matilda, who was sitting on a boulder about a hundred yards off, facing away from them. Maxwell said,<br>"Probably not. I think she's been through enough for one day."

As Maxwell and Aeris walked through the house, Maxwell kept thinking of something. Something just didn't feel right. He couldn't put his hand on it. The house had burnt down, Helena and Mercury didn't make it...something was missing. As Maxwell thought about this, him and Aeris walked back into Mercury's study, and Aeris and Maxwell picked up two shards of Ambrosium from the drawer Matilda had opened. They held up the shards, and looked around. Aeris caught sight of something on the desk. A note. She picked it up, and saw these words scrawled on it in a shaky hand:

_**DOUBLE BOOKS**_

Aeris mumbled,  
>"Double books?"<br>Maxwell turned to her, and asked,  
>"Double what?"<br>"Double books. That's what this note says. Think it's code for something?"  
>Maxwell took the note, and looked it over. Was it some kind of cipher? It seemed so arbitrary...<br>Except that they were in a room full of books.  
>Large bookshelves lined the wall directly across from the door. Maxwell walked up to one of them, and started looking through them. The books, in order, were:<p>

**Aechor Farming Volume 1,  
>Aechor Farming Volume 2,<strong>**Flight of the Moa  
>The Creatures of the Aether<br>The Botany of Kliffwood  
>The Elders of Ambrosium City, Volume 1<br>The Elders of Ambrosium City, Volume 2  
>The Elders of Ambrosium City, Volume 2<br>**

Huh?  
>He had two Volume 2's? Maxwell smiled. Double books. He took them off the shelf, and behind the thick books, he saw a keyhole. Bingo. He put the key in the slot, turned it, and the bookshelf began to move. Maxwell and Aeris backed away as the bookshelf, along with the section of the wall behind it, began to move. When it opened, Maxwell saw a wooden chest inside. Maxwell looked at Aeris, and said,<br>"This looks promising."

Matilda sat on the boulder, overlooking the floating islands, one of them fenced in with big purple flowers moving around inside. Aechor plants. In the distance, the faint skyline of the forests of Kliffwood were visible.  
>"Matilda! Come see!"<br>Aeris was shouting to her. Matilda turned around, and saw that Maxwell and Aeris were carrying a large wooden chest. Matilda stood up, and walked over. Maxwell said,  
>"We found this in Mercury's study."<br>Matilda asked,  
>"What's in it?"<br>Maxwell shrugged, and said,  
>"Time to find out, I guess."<br>Maxwell put the same key in the lock on the chest, and it worked. The top opened, and the looked inside. There were three objects, wrapped in leather, and tied closed with a string. On top of them was a piece of paper. Maxwell picked it up, and read it. It read:

**To whom this letter may concern.  
>If you are reading this letter, then you have passed all of the necessary <strong>**requirements to become the next elders of Ambrosium City. In each of these parcels are your weapons. They may not look like much now, but their true power will be unlocked when you receive your powers. I wish you all the best of luck.**

**With endless respect,**  
><strong>Mercury Demetri<strong>

Maxwell looked at the parcels in the chest. Him, Aeris, and Matilda picked up one each, and opened them. They stared at the contents of their parcels. Aeris, looking at hers, said,  
>"A wooden sword and a bow?"<br>Sure enough, that's all that was inside. Matilda looked inside hers, and she had five wooden throwing knives, and a wooden sword. Maxwell's was the strangest. There was a stick, a brick, and a yellow orb. Not the ancient gem, but Maxwell could hear something sloshing around inside it. They stared at their weapons skeptically. Maxwell said,  
>"Well, he <em>did <em>say their power wasn't unlocked yet."  
>Maxwell turned over the paper, and said,<br>"Wait a sec, there's more."  
>Maxwell read:<p>

**To travel to Gravitite's base, you will require a portal of Obsidian.**

Matilda said slowly,  
>"Obb...Obsidyan? What's <em>that<em>?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"It's a really strong material that's made when water flows over lava."  
>Aeris said,<br>"Well, there's only one place in the entire Aether that has lava!"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Where?"  
>Matilda said,<br>"Vulcaneum. It's where the blacksmiths used to forge their tools. It's the Aether's only Volcano."  
>"How far is it?"<br>Aeris thought, and finally said,  
>"Well...well, the shortest way is through Kliffwood, but even then it's a two day trip."<br>Matilda said,  
>"There's an outpost for the Free Warriors along the way. Maybe they could give us lodging there."<br>Maxwell asked,  
>"Warriors? I thought they were all at the refugee camp."<br>"Most of them, but these are the Free Warriors. They operate outside the usual chain of command, and keep an eye on the goings on outside of Ambrosium City. But, unlike us, they don't have a code of conduct. They do what it takes to get a job done, end of discussion."  
>"So we need to be careful?"<br>"Maybe, maybe not. They're unpredictable. That's why they're out here, and not in Ambrosium City."  
>Aeris said,<br>"And, with what Maxwell told us about what he saw in the glass, there would be some good grounds to believe that some stray Cockatrices could be hanging around Kliffwood. Those areas are big, shaded, and uninhabited, so a Cockatrice population could thrive there."  
>Maxwell rubbed his head, and said,<br>"This just keeps getting better and better."  
>After some silence, Maxwell said,<br>"Well...we should get going."

* * *

><p>Stevie walked into Horatio's lab to find Horatio working frantically, quickly teleporting between cabinets and vials filled with bubbling liquids. The room smelled strongly of rust. Horatio looked at Stevie, who said,<br>"What's going on?"  
>Horatio, continuing his work, replied,<br>"Well, you said that Gravitite stays in it's pure form when it doesn't react with Oxygen. Correct?"  
>"Yes.."<br>"Well, what if this is just Gravitite doing the same thing that metals do, just more quickly?"  
>"I don't follow."<br>"The Gravitite is oxidizing, just like metal does when it rusts, and copper does when it turns green. If we could find a way to make a super-oxidizer, and put in in a delivery mechanism, we could put it on the Gravitite, and maybe, just _maybe_, that could persuade it to oxidize."  
>Stevie asked,<br>"Are you sure that will work?"  
>Horatio teleported to Stevie, and said,<br>"Well...we're kinda running out of options here. This is at _least_ a start."


	19. Chapter 18: A Superior Predator

Matilda, Maxwell, and Aeris raced towards the forests of Kliffwood. Aeris looked over at Matilda, who had a look of anger strewn across her face. She looked ahead of her with stone cold determination. No doubt she had finally focused her anger on Gravitite. Aeris thought about what she would do in Matilda's shoes. She'd probably feel the same way. She looked ahead again, and the forest of Kliffwood was clearly visible, the massive skyroot trees stretching to the sky. They were about a five minute flight form it now. She wondered what was in there. It was mostly unexplored, except for a few traveling routes. But the routes didn't lead to where they had to go, so they had to go through mostly untamed forests. She was excited, though. Just imagine what she might find in there!

As they neared Kliffwood, Maxwell began to tense up. If what Aeris had said was true, and they really could face Cockatrices in there, how well would he be able to fight back in a thick forest? Maxwell's Moa lept over another gap, and, landing, came to rest on the border of Kliffwood. Aeris, Matilda, and Maxwell looked up at the massive trees, towering 15 blocks* in the air, and at the darkened forest beyond. Maxwell said,  
>"Here goes nothing."<br>Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked into the forest. When they were beyond the treeline, they looked around at the massive tree trunks, the darkened ground, occasionally illuminated by the glow of the sun rays, and the vines growing down from the skyroots. Occasionally, a Moa ran away from them through the forest, and an Aechor plant eyed them. Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda drew their pitifully inadequate swords. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes next to them. They snapped around, but after a moment, it was gone. They saw a black shape darting among the trees, and disappearing in the canopy above them. Maxwell asked Matilda,  
>"Free Warriors?"<br>"No...it doesn't look right."  
>As Aeris continued to walk, she started to think. Where were the Cockatrices? With this kind of habitat, they should be thriving. But they still hadn't come across one Cockatrice. Aeris immediately humored herself with figuring out why. Maybe there was a migration, maybe they ran out of their food source...<p>

No, that couldn't be it.

There were Moas in abundance, the preferred prey of Cockatrices. And if they were to migrate, where would they go to? With Cockatrice reproduction rates, they would soon overpopulate Kliffwood. That left Aeris to one conclusion.

There was a superior predator here.

The thought of this sent chills through her. What could be worse than a Cockatrice? Whatever it was, it must have caught the population early, maybe while they were still in the tens or hundreds, before they could gain traction. But with their aforementioned reproduction rates, that predator would have to work fast. As in, within a week fast. And she knew that the fact that there were Cockatrices here was only speculation, but even so, if they-

She stopped. She noticed something hanging from a tree. She said to Matilda and Maxwell,  
>"Uh, guys?"<br>Matilda turned around, and said,  
>"What?"<br>Maxwell asked,  
>"What is it?"<br>Aeris pointed to the canopy. Something was hanging down from some vines. As Aeris squinted, she saw what it was. Her eyes widened.  
>"No way."<br>"What do you see?"  
>Aeris shook her head. Hanging above them, 30 feet in the air, was a dead Cockatrice. It had gotten well into decomposition, and flies were buzzing around it. It hung upside down by it's leg on a vine, but how it was hung intrigued Aeris the most. It wasn't tangled up there. It was tied. And it was tied <em>well. <em>There were about a dozen arrows lodged in it, but they looked odd. Where were the fletchings? Maxwell and Matilda looked at it, said Maxwell said,  
>"Sweet Notch, what did <em>that<em>?"  
>Matilda said,<br>"Whatever it is, I sure hope it's on our side."  
>As they kept walking, they kept seeing more and more dead Cockatrices, killed in exactly the same fashion. Maxwell asked Aeris,<br>"Aeris? What do you think?"  
>"Well...whatever this was, it was smart enough to know how to make traps, how to use arrows, and, seeing as how there are only Cockatrices hanging up there, dead and not eaten, that implies that they know that Cockatrices are a serious threat. Whatever these are, they're not normal."<br>"Think we'll come across any of them?"  
>"...I hope not."<br>They continued walking in silence. After a while, they began to walk up a hill, and at the top, Maxwell said,  
>"Well, maybe we should get a lay of the land. I could climb a tree, or something."<br>Maxwell examined one of the skyroots, and said,  
>"Alright, I guess I could get some handholds on that. I could-"<br>"Ahem."  
>Maxwell looked at Matilda, who opened her wings. Maxwell grinned sheepishly, and said,<br>"Oh. Right."  
>Matilda flapped her wings, and before Maxwell could look up, she was above the treetops.<p>

As Matilda looked around above the forested hill, the forests stretching away for miles, as far as the eye could see. There was an occasional break in the treeline where the islands split. The islands were much larger in Kliffwood, making it almost like an Aether continent. As Matilda looked around, in the far distance, she saw a massive pantheon, surrounded by clouds, floating in the air. Matilda grinned. The Free Warriors outpost. Matilda was about to head down, but suddenly, something caught her eye. She looked to her right, ans in the distance, she saw a rising column of smoke. A fire? Matilda shouted down to Maxwell and Aeris,  
>"Hey guys! There's a fire over there, should we check it out?"<br>Silence.  
>"...Guys?"<br>Nothing.  
>Matilda flew down, and when she landed, Maxwell and Aeris were gone! She heard a rustling in the bushes, and when she looked, she caught a glimpse of Maxwell's feet being dragged into the bushes. Matilda shouted,<br>"_Maxwell!_"  
>Suddenly, there was a hiss from behind her, and she turned around to see a blur rushing at her face.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Bump.<br>_Maxwell stirred.  
><em>Bump bump.<br>_Maxwell's eyes fluttered open. He still couldn't see anything. He widened his eyes. Nothing. Finally, his brain decided to feel the blindfold wrapped tightly around his face. It was hard to tell with the blindfold, but Maxwell could feel the faint sensation of movement. Then he heard it.  
>Breathing.<br>Maxwell shuddered. Something was breathing directly underneath him. When he shuddered, he felt himself stop. There was a sniffing noise. Then, he started moving again. He said,  
>"Hey! You down there!"<br>He stopped again. Maxwell continued,  
>"Where am I?!"<br>Again, silence for a moment, and then he started moving again. He tried to move, but his hands and feet were tied to a wooden board underneath him. He said,  
>"Where are my friends?!"<br>Suddenly, he heard a hissing sound from underneath him. That shut him up for a minute. Finally, he stopped one more time, and felt himself come to rest on the ground. The blindfold was whipped off of his face, and he quickly looked around, but whatever was carrying him before had already hidden in the bushes. They were so fast! He looked to his left and to his right, and he saw Matilda and Aeris laying next to him. They were both unconscious. Suddenly, Maxwell heard a noise. He looked to bushes ahead of him. The glint of two eyes looked back at him. Suddenly, a pair of hands pinned his head to the ground. After a moment, he heard a voice say,  
>"Who are you?"<br>Maxwell, after a moment, replied,  
>"My name is Maxwell. Who are you?"<br>"What is your business here?!"  
>"We're trying to get to the Free Warriors's outpost."<br>"Now, what would warriors be doing in our forest?"  
>"What? No, we're not warriors, we're just..."<br>Maxwell struggled to find the right word. Of course they were warriors! What was he saying?! Dumb, dumb, dumb! The voice said,  
>"Warriors?"<br>"No we're...peace-keepers."  
>"Which is a gentle way of saying <em>warrior! <em>Why have you invaded our domain?!"  
>"Look, I know it looks bad, but I swear, we're only passing through!"<br>"The last time I trusted a foreign creature, half of my kind was destroyed. We took care of _that _problem quickly enough."  
>Maxwell felt something on his leg.<br>_It was climbing up his leg!_  
>Maxwell squirmed, and closed his eyes. The creature came to rest on Maxwell's chest. Maxwell felt it's hot breath on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to look at his adversary.<br>What he saw next is quite difficult to put into words.

* * *

><p><strong>*About 45 feet<strong>


	20. Chapter 19: Peace

Maxwell stared up at the creature sitting on his chest, staring coldly at him with big black eyes. It's eyes looked kinda cute, which somewhat detracted from it's threatening appearance.

And the fact that the rest of it was a five-pound bunny rabbit certainly didn't help either.

It had white fur, and a little pink whiskered nose. On either side of it's little body, there was a light blue spiral pattern. It was dressed in glowing purple Cockatrice feathers, and it carried a tiny spear in one of it's front paws. Despite Maxwell's position, he felt a smile tugging on the sides of his cheeks. Before long, he had to stifle a laugh. After that, he just couldn't hold it in anymore. He started to laugh so hard that the bunny on his chest started to bounce up and down. It started shouting,  
>"What are you laughing at?!"<br>Maxwell tried to answer, but he just couldn't stop laughing. All this time, they were so afraid of some little rabbits! Maxwell saw the rabbit hiss as it held it's spear up to his face, and Maxwell stopped when he saw the tip. It was tipped with a purple liquid. The rabbit grinned.  
>"Ah, so you know what this is. The Cockatrices certainly weren't a blessing, but they gave us the means of getting rid of them. They aren't immune to their own venom. Normally, once it gets in the bloodstream, they bite it in about five minutes, but that's with seven spears in a big bird. Wanna see how long one takes for a human?"<br>He pushed the spear closer to Maxwell's face.  
>"Berteaux!"<br>The rabbit turned his head, and the hands holding his head down quickly let go. Maxwell looked up to see about ten rabbits back away slowly. Maxwell looked to the source of the new voice, and there was another rabbit, wearing more purple Cockatrice feathers, saying,  
>"What are you doing?!"<br>"We found these three intruding on our territory!"  
>"Let them go! They're just Valkyries!"<br>"Actually, sir, one of them doesn't have wings."  
>"Wait...one of them is a <em>human?<em>"  
>"If that's what it's called, sir."<br>"For Notch's sake, let the human go!"  
>"But I-"<br>"Now, Berteaux!"  
>Berteaux looked down icily at Maxwell. He said,<br>"I've got my eyes on you, human."  
>Berteaux looked to the rabbits behind Maxwell, and barked,<br>"Untie him!"  
>Berteaux hopped off of Maxwell's chest when the rabbits scrambled to untie his hands and feet. When Maxwell could move, he sat up, and rubbed his wrists. He looked to the new rabbit, who said,<br>"I apologize for this violence, the Cockatrice hunt is leaving many of our defenders a bit more on edge. My name is Tarideaux."  
>Maxwell nodded, and said,<br>"Name's Maxwell."  
>Maxwell looked around him, and saw a bunch of tiny houses that resembled mounds of dirt. They were lumps in the ground, with holes in sides for windows. As Maxwell looked in the doorways, he saw rabbits hiding in the doorways, some of them with about ten baby rabbits behind them. Tarideaux announced,<br>"Don't worry, everyone! They're okay!"  
>Slowly, the rabbits hopped out of their holes. The young ones came out most readily. After a moment, Maxwell found himself covered in about a hundred baby rabbits. Smiling, he said,<br>"Hey! Cut it out! That tickles!"  
>Maxwell heard a groan. He looked over to Matilda, who was surrounded by even more young rabbits. Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she sat up quickly, reaching for her sword. Maxwell said,<br>"Matilda! Wait! It's alright!"  
>Matilda calmed down a bit, and looked around. When she saw the tiny furry creatures surrounding her, she said simply,<br>"You're kidding me."

After this had all cleared up, Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked through the tiny town next to Tarideaux, who hopped along beside them. The small mud huts, about half their height, lined the streets. Maxwell looked over one of the houses, and saw a garden lined with rows of carrots. Aeris talked to Tarideaux, asking question after question. Maxwell looked at the houses, and saw little torches burning inside them. Aeris asked Tarideaux,  
>"I always knew that Aerbunnies were intelligent, but you guys have figured out <em>language?<em>"  
>Tarideaux replied,<br>"Oh, we've always had language, normally by wiggling our ears and tails, but we only recently learned how to speak. Partially thanks to us eavesdropping on those other Valkyries that go romping through here."  
>Maxwell asked,<br>"The Free Warriors?"  
>"If that's what they're called."<br>Aeris, shaking her head, said,  
>"Wow...so you guys are just as intelligent as we are?"<br>"From what I can tell."  
>"So you can-"<br>Matilda butted in, saying,  
>"Do you know where the Free Warrior's base is?"<br>"Oh, yes, it's actually a few hundred blocks to the east of here. About 30 minutes as the rabbit hops. Why?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"We need to get to Vulcaneum for some obsidian. We need to get to the dark side of the Aether."  
>Tarideaux looked at Maxwell excitedly, and said,<br>"You're going to defeat Gravitite, aren't you?"  
>"Yeah! How did you know?"<br>"I've heard the prophecy! One with no wings! You! You're the Gilded Valkyrie!"  
>Maxwell was amazed at how much this little creature actually knew. He said,<br>"Yeah. That's exactly right."  
>Tarideaux bowed, his big ears touching the ground, and said,<br>"Sir, if there is any way in which I can assist, I would be honored to provide it!"  
>Maxwell smiled. That was cute. The little rabbit offering his assistance. Maxwell said,<br>"The thought's appreciated, but I don't really know how you could-"  
><em>SQUAAAAWK!<em>  
>Tarideaux turned sharply around, brandishing his spear, hissing as a Cockatrice leaped over a row of houses, and landed in front of them. Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda reached for their weapons, then realized that Berteaux had disarmed them. Tarideaux said,<br>"Get back!"  
>There was nothing else to do. They could only watch Tarideaux face his death. The Cockatrice looked at Tarideaux as mother rabbits and their babies hid inside their houses. The Cockatrice looked wary. Tarideaux bared his two buck teeth, and hissed, jumping forward, causing the Cockatrice to leap back a foot or so. Tarideaux and the Cockatrice circled each other, sizing each other up. The Cockatrice growling and clicking it's beak. Maxwell looked at Tarideaux's spear, and saw that it wasn't venom tipped! It was just a piece of sharpened flint on a stick! Tarideaux didn't stand a chance! Suddenly, the Cockatrice ran forward headfirst, beak gaping, as Tarideaux leaped in the air over the bird. The Cockatrice shot several darts, all of them sticking into the ground. The Cockatrice tripped as it missed it's target, and slid on the ground. It flipped over, and aimed a dart at Tarideaux, who was still in mid-air, and fired it. Tarideaux flipped around, and as the dart was passing him, he caught it with his free paw, and threw it at the Cockatrice. It landed squarely in it's leg, and the Cockatrice screeched. It stood up, and stumbled. It's vision blurred. It started to hobble over to where Tarideaux landed, and aimed a dart at him. Tarideaux jumped to the side as the dart hit the ground, and leaped at the Cockatrice, spear in hand. Maxwell stared. Aeris gaped. Matilda's eyes grew wide. The Cockatrice fell over on the ground, dead. There was a stunned silence, and then, all of the rabbits ran out of their houses, cheering. Tarideaux walked up to the stunned trio, and Maxwell said,<br>"That was amazing!"  
>Tarideaux nonchalantly looked behind him, and said,<br>"This? Oh, just a few more feathers for my garment."  
>Maxwell looked at the dead Cockatrice, looked back at Tarideaux, and said,<br>"Uh...Terry...Can I call you Terry?"  
>Tarideaux nodded, and said,<br>"You may call me whatever you wish, Gilded Valkyrie."  
>"I just thought of how you could help us."<p>

* * *

><p>Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda stood in a clearing, with a life sized Cockatrice replica in front of them. Berteaux paced in front of them, with Tarideaux standing next to him. Bertaux barked,<br>"Alright, slimes, Cockatrice 101! You may stop to think twice! Cockatrices won't! If you find yourself at the receiving end of a Cockatrice, you won't have time for second thoughts! Don't think about it, fight!"  
>Tarideaux interjected.<br>"_Actually, _a great deal of thought goes into defeating a Cockatrice. However, it must be done in a split second. You must not allow the Cockatrice to frighten you. You must put yourself at peace."  
>The word echoed in Maxwell's mind. Peace. Wasn't that one of the three virtues? The verse of the prophecy came to his mind.<br>_And his powers will he not earn, until the three virtues he has learned._  
>Maxwell said<br>"Alright, let's do this!"  
>Berteaux started to step backwards, saying,<br>"Are you ready?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Yeah!"  
>Bertaux barked,<br>"_I said are you ready?!_"  
>"I was <em>born <em>ready!"  
>"<em>I can't hear you!<em>"  
>"<em>Bring it o-<em>"  
>A dummy dart landed in the center of his forehead, the blue slime ball splattering on impact. Another one landed in his chest, and another in his arm. Bertaux let go of the button on top of the Cockatrice replica. He said,<br>"Oh no, looks like you're dead. Test one failed."

* * *

><p>After a long day of training, Maxwell laid in what shelter the Aerbunnies could provide for the trio, their underground storage room. It was a bit cramped, but it was about the size of a normal living room, so Maxwell didn't really care. He was tired. As he laid on the bed of leaves that the Aerbunnies had made, he heard someone coming down the ladder. He looked over to the opening in the ceiling, and saw Matilda coming down the ladder. Maxwell said,<br>"Oh, hey Matilda. Where's Aeris at?"  
>Matilda turned around, and said,<br>"Still talking with Tarideaux."  
>She walked over to her leaf bed, and laid down to rest. Maxwell asked,<br>"So...how are _you?_"  
>"I don't know what you mean."<br>Maxwell turned over, and looked at Matilda, and said,  
>"You know...with Mercury?"<br>Matilda was silent. Then, she said,  
>"I'm fine."<br>"You know, you can talk about it, if you want."  
>Matilda was silent for another moment, and then she turned over to face Maxwell. She said,<br>"If I had just let Mercury take you to Ambrosium City like he wanted, we wouldn't have had to _bury _him yesterday!"  
>Yesterday? Had it really been that long? Maxwell said,<br>"Well, if you had stayed, then _you _would have died, and we would have less of a chance of defeating Gravitite."  
>Matilda sighed. She said,<br>"I...I know that I had to live...but I still wish I could have saved Mercury. You know what that's like, right?"  
>"Well, no, not really. I don't have any relatives."<br>Matilda cocked an eyebrow.  
>"You haven't suffered any losses, but you still have no relatives?"<br>"Down on earth, we don't really have any parents. We just kind of...spawn in, and that's it."  
>"Really? What's <em>that <em>like?"  
>Maxwell shrugged, and said,<br>"Not much to say, really. First second, you don't exist, next second, you do."  
>"Hm. Well, do you-"<br>Suddenly, Aeris came down the ladder. She exclaimed,  
>"Man, these guys are <em>incredible! <em>Who could have guessed that their little paws could make a home air conditioning system!"  
>Aeris turned to Maxwell and Matilda, saying,<br>"Am I interrupting something?"  
>Matilda shook her head, and turned over, saying,<br>"No. We were just getting to sleep."

* * *

><p>Maxwell stepped in front of the Cockatrice replica. Bertaux stood on top of the model, grinning, and said,<br>"You ready for another go, kid?"  
>Maxwell nodded. Tarideaux watched from the sidelines, standing on Aeris's shoulder, and Matilda standing next to her. Maxwell stared at the Cockatrice replica, the dried splats of slime covering his body. He took a deep breath. He tried to calm himself. He watched Bertaux place his long back foot on the button on top of the Cockatrice's head. A dart fired out of the mouth, and Maxwell reached out his hand to grab the arrow. He missed, though, and it hit him squarely in the wrist. He plucked off the arrow, and stared wiping the splatter off on his pants. Afterwards, he took a deep breath. He stopped thinking about the dart heading for him. He felt the breeze running past him. He listened to the rustling of the trees. Suddenly, he heard a<br>_Thrik!  
><em>Maxwell opened his eyes to see the dart rushing towards him, but this time, he didn't react as quickly. He just calmly moved to the side, reached out his hand, and caught the arrow. Berteaux, Tarideaux, Aeris, and Matilda stared. Maxwell grinned at Bertaux.  
>"Next."<br>Bertaux, a look of determination on his face, pressed the button twice. Maxwell caught one, and the other landed a couple of feet in front of the Cockatrice, from the other direction. Berteaux pressed the button three times, and an arrow flew behind Maxwell, the next one landed on the Cockatrice's beak, and the last one smacked Bertaux in the face with a loud _splat! _Bertaux was sent flying backwards, and Maxwell ran up to him, saying,  
>"Sorry! Are you alright?"<br>Bertaux hopped up, and wiped the slime off of his face. He looked at Maxwell, and said,  
>"Let's try that again."<p>

Maxwell stepped in front of the Cockatrice dummy, and Bertaux took his position. He said,  
>"Alright, new rule! Next arrow that comes at you, throw it at me!"<br>Maxwell cocked his head.  
>"What?"<br>"Did I stutter? Throw it back at me!"  
>Beartaux stomped on the button, and an arrow flew at Maxwell. Maxwell caught the arrow, and turned it back at Bertaux. Maxwell watched as Bertaux turned the arrow back at Maxwell, and said,<br>"Heads up!"  
>The arrow flew at Maxwell, and Maxwell sent it back to Bertaux. The others watched in amazement as Maxwell and Bertaux sent the arrow back and forth between them for a few minutes, until finally, Bertaux slipped up, and the arrow landed behind him, on the Cockatrice replica's back. Bertaux looked at Maxwell, half grinning. He said,<br>"Not bad, kid."  
>He turned to Tarideaux, and said,<br>"He's ready."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright guys, before I wrap up this chapter, I have a special announcement to make! I haven't uploaded to Gilded Valkyrie in a week or two, but it's not because of writer's block this time! I've had a little pet project going on, but it requires your feedback to see if it's working.<strong>

**I have a blog now!**

**I've been looking around for about a week now to find the best site to blog on, and I've finally settled on the most polished one I could find, Weebly! The link to my new blog is in my profile page! Go check it out, and please shoot me a comment telling me what you think about it, because that will ultimately determine if I continue or not. **


	21. Chapter 20: The Free Warriors

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda stood on the outskirts of the small rabbit town, Tarideaux seeing them off. Maxwell said,  
>"Well, Terry, looks like this is goodbye."<br>Tarideaux nodded, and said,  
>"It appears so."<br>Aeris said,  
>"Good luck with that Cockatrice control, buddy!"<br>Tarideaux grinned, showing his large front teeth. Matilda said,  
>"Thanks for the tips. They'll be put to good use."<br>Tarideaux said,  
>"I wish you all the best of luck on your journey."<br>Tarideaux turned around, and hopped back to the village, as Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda turned around, and set off for the Free Warrior's base.

* * *

><p>As they walked through Kliffwood, weapons holstered, Maxwell clutching the yellow orb, there was another blur of motion above them. It was below the canopy, but it was moving fast. They looked up, and saw a blur streak through the forest, make a bank turn, make another pass above them, then climb above the trees, out of sight. All the while, it dodged trees and branches like it was no problem. As Maxwell looked in the direction it had flown, he saw the massive building floating above a cluster of clouds. The Free Warrior base! Suddenly, there was a thump from behind them. Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda snapped around to see a Valkyrie man standing behind them, girded with the same purple armor that Maxwell had seen the other Warriors wear. The backs were taken out of the helmets, so their crests could be clearly seen, and their helmets were kept on tight by a strap across the bottom. Suddenly, all around them, Valkyries fell through the canopy, landing all around the group, surrounding them. One of them talked to the other, saying,<br>"Well, well! Looks like we've got some Ambros on our turf!"  
>They laughed. Maxwell said,<br>"Hey, look, we don't-"  
>Matilda put her hand on his shoulder, and whispered,<br>"Let me handle this."  
>She walked in front of Maxwell, and said loudly,<br>"Commander Xaadril reporting! Ten-hut!"  
>Their eyes widened for a moment, then they stood at attention. Maxwell mumbled to Matilda,<br>"I thought that they didn't use your chain of command."  
>Matilda shrugged. She said,<br>"I didn't even think that would work. Maybe my name means something?"  
>She looked around. There was an assortment of Valkyrian men and women, the women's helmets having backs on them. One of the men winked as her eye passed him, and he turned his head slightly sideways, showing his crest. Matilda said,<br>"I said Ten-hut, soldier!"  
>Quickly, he stood at attention again. The man next to him chuckled. They were an unruly group. Matilda said,<br>"At ease!"  
>The solders relaxed a bit. One of the women said,<br>"Commander Xaadril, we have orders to escort you to our base."  
>Matilda turned to her, and said,<br>"Alright then, take us there."  
>The group spread their wings, and Aeris and Matilda followed as they took off. Maxwell looked up from the ground, and said,<br>"Hey! What about me?"  
>They looked down at him. One of the men sighed, and said,<br>"I've got Wingless."  
>He flew down, grabbed Maxwell by the arms, and took off. With one flap of his wings, him and Maxwell were halfway to the canopy. Another flap, and they were well on their way to the base.<p>

Maxwell was set down on the front balcony, where Matilda and Aeris were waiting. They followed the warriors in through the large open door, and down some hallways. Maxwell saw occasional glances from the others out of the corners of their eyes. Soon, they entered a large open chamber, and the group of warriors parted, and Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda stepped inside. In the center of the room stood a massive Gilded oak tree, it's golden dust falling slowly to the ground. Maxwell looked around, and in one of the branches, he saw something. And it moved. It turned to face them, and Maxwell heard someone say,  
>"Did you find them?"<br>One of the men said,  
>"Yes, sir. We found them wandering around in Kliffwood. Two of them are Ambros, but one of them's a..."<br>He turned to Maxwell, and said,  
>"What are you things even called?"<br>Maxwell furrowed his brow, and said,  
>"Humans."<br>The man turned back to the figure in the tree, and said said slowly,  
>"Hyoo-min. But there's more."<p>

"What?"  
>The figure asked.<br>"One of the Valkyries. It's Matilda Xaadril."  
>This caught the figure's attention. It spread it's wings, and flew down from the tree, and landed in front of them. It was a Valkyrie woman, dressed in a leather tunic. She had pale blue hair and wings. She said,<br>"Oh, a Xaadril, huh?"  
>She walked up to the trio, pointed to Matilda, and said,<br>"I'd be willing to bet anything that it's you."  
>Matilda nodded. She said,<br>"Matilda Xaadril, Platoon 78. And you are?"  
>The woman straightened up, grinned, and said,<br>"General Hermia. Free Warriors."  
>Matilda cocked her head. Then, her eyes widened. She said,<br>"Hermia?! How did you-"  
>Hermia grinned even wider. Maxwell asked Matilda,<br>"You two know each other?"  
>Matilda nodded, and said,<br>"When I first went to warrior training."  
>Hermia, smirking, held out her hand, and said,<br>"How's it been, Matty?"  
>Matilda grinned, and shook her hand, saying,<br>"You have no idea."

As Hermia, Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked through the hallways of the base, talking, Hermia asked,  
>"So, what brings you to my corner of the Aether?"<br>Maxwell said,  
>"Well, we need to get to Vulcaneum, and we had to stop here for lodging."<br>Hermia nodded. She said,  
>"Why do you need to go there?"<br>Aeris said,  
>"We need Obsidian for a Nether portal."<br>Hermia cocked an eyebrow. She said,  
>"The Nether? You do realize that that's almost a death sentence for a Valkyrie, right?"<br>Matilda said,  
>"We're gonna have to take our chances. We need to get to the dark side of the Aether."<br>Hermia looked at Matilda, and said,  
>"That's Gravitite's domain."<br>Matilda nodded gravely. Hermia looked at the trio in disbelief, and said,  
>"You're kidding. You three are going to go defeat <em>Gravitite<em>? Look, I hate Gravitite as much as the next guy, but that's even crazier than the Nether!"  
>She gestured to Maxwell and Aeris, asking,<br>"Do you two even know how to fight?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"I trained at the University of Minecraft down on Earth."  
>Hermia looked to Aeris, saying,<br>"And you?"  
>Aeris said,<br>"I have a specialized set of armor that increases my speed, and I use it to ram enemies."  
>"Uh huh. And where is it now?"<br>"Well..."  
>The group made it out of the hallways, and into a large chamber. Maxwell was met with the sight of about 50 pairs of Warriors sparring with each other, leaping into the air, swords clashing, ducking, rolling, parrying, flying into the air, and landing behind their opponents to strike another blow. Hermia led the trio through the room, and the commotion slowly stopped. Most of them watched as Hermia walked to the other side of the room, and called to one of the Valkyrie men,<br>"Oberon? Come here."  
>As the Valkyrie walked up to Maxwell, he rose above him by about four inches.<br>"Human? Meet today's sparring partner."  
>Oberon pulled out his sword. Maxwell grinned. This was child's play. He was the best in his class in sword fighting, it was something he prided himself on. He brandished his wooden sword, and Oberon rushed at him. Maxwell blocked, and parried. He swiped his sword, Oberon jumped back, and took advantage of the opportunity. While Maxwell was recovering from the swipe, he leaped forward with the sword, but Maxwell rolled to the side, and brandished his sword as Oberon moved past him. He turned quickly, and Maxwell grinned even wider. The man smirked, and rushed at Maxwell. The two continued to fight for another five minutes, until finally, he lost his balance, fell over, and Maxwell held the tip of the sword in front of Oberon's face. Maxwell holstered his sword again, and held out his hand. Oberon took it, and Maxwell helped him up. Hermia said,<br>"Not bad. Especially since you don't have wings. Matty, you're up."  
>Matilda took Maxwell's place, and a Valkyrie woman walked in front of her. They sparred for about one minute before Matilda won out. Hermia grinned, and said,<br>"Still the polished warrior I remember. Alright kid, your turn."  
>Aeris walked up to take Matilda's place. She pulled on her sword for a moment, before finally getting it out of her scabbard. She held it out, and a girl about her age walked up to her. Hermia said,<br>"This is our newest recruit, Titania. She's been here for about two weeks."  
>Titania smiled, and nodded. She pulled out her sword. Aeris fumbled with her sword, and after a few seconds, she was on the ground, Titania's sword in her face. Titania helped her up, and Aeris looked over to Hermia. Her brow was furrowed. Aeris stood next to Maxwell and Matilda. Hermia pointed to Matilda, saying,<br>"You're good."  
>She pointed to Maxwell.<br>"You're serviceable."  
>She pointed to Aeris.<br>"You need some serious training. And you guys won't be leaving until she's improved."  
>Maxwell held out his hands, and said,<br>"Woah, woah! How long does that take?!"  
>Hermia shrugged, and said,<br>"If all goes well, a few days should sharpen her up."  
>"You're keeping us here for a few <em>days?!<em>"  
>Hermia looked at Maxwell, and said,<br>"I'm not going to make you stay, but something makes me think that you'll choose that for yourself."  
>Matilda asked,<br>"What?"  
>Hermia simply started to walk into the hallway, and said,<br>"Follow me. I have something you might want."

The trio followed her through the hallway, and finally, they came to a button on the wall. Hermia pushed the button, and a section of the wall slid away. Maxwell understood what was in the secret room before Matilda and Aeris did. Matilda asked,  
>"Is that..."<br>Maxwell nodded. He said,  
>"Aeris? You may want to get ready for training."<br>Aeris slowly nodded. Because in the secret room behind the wall...

Was Neptune's armor.


	22. Chapter 21: The Gauntlet

Maxwell couldn't believe what he was seeing. He said to Hermia,  
>"How...how did you..."<br>He turned to Hermia. She was smirking. Maxwell said simply,  
>"How?!"<br>Hermia said,  
>"Neptune's the guy that got us started. He created the Free Warriors."<br>Hermia looked to Matilda, who was staring at the armor alongside Aeris. She said,  
>"When Neptune passed, Lusonus brought his armor here. I guess that was a smart choice, since you guys decided to show."<br>Matilda started to walk towards the armor, but suddenly, the door slammed shut. Hermia said,  
>"Hold your Moas, Matty. You don't get something for nothing."<br>She turned to Aeris, and said,  
>"A chain's only as strong as it's weakest link, so if you guys are planning on taking on Gravitite, you need to strengthen your weak links."<br>Hermia turned around, and said to a passing guard,  
>"Show our guests to their quarters."<br>Then, she walked down the hallway.

* * *

><p>As Aeris laid in her bed, she was filled with dread about what was coming. She was about to go into actual warrior training! How difficult would it be? Would she be good enough? What if she <em>wasn't?<em> She shuddered at the thought. She took a deep breath, turned over, and tried to go to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she heard a horn. Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked up. A Valkyrie woman was walking down the hall blowing a horn. After she passed, Maxwell walked in, rubbing his eyes, yawning. He said,  
>"Jeez, what time is it?"<br>Aeris shrugged as she stood up. Suddenly, Hermia walked in, followed by Matilda. They were both wide awake. Hermia clapped her hands loudly, and said,  
>"Alright kiddo, get dressed! Training in five! Let's go!"<p>

Maxwell, Aeris Matilda, and Hermia stood at a large open doorway. Aeris was dressed in a leather tunic. She said,  
>"Umm...I'm no war expert, but shouldn't I have...you know, armor? And weapons?"<br>Hermia said,  
>"Me, Matty, and some of the boys set up this training course for you last night. A while back, we got our hands on some salvaged anti-theft drones from the Technological Era. We used those to set up a gauntlet for you to cut your teeth on."<br>Hermia and Matilda stepped in front of the doorway. Maxwell could see that she was more relaxed now. Being in her element certainly calmed her down. Matilda said,  
>"Maxwell, you will go with Aeris through the gauntlet, but you aren't to interfere unless she's in immediate danger."<br>Maxwell nodded. Hermia said,  
>"Alright, here's the drill. I know you three need to leave as soon as possible, but training takes time. To make it take less time, we've had to step up the intensity. Aeris, you have no armor or weaponry. Your goal: When you go into the gauntlet, it will be a series of connected rooms. In each of these rooms is a chest. Inside some of those chests is armor and weaponry. Others...well..."<br>Hermia grinned.  
>"You'll see that for yourself. Now. Into the starting position!"<br>Matilda and Hermia stepped aside, and Maxwell and Aeris readied themselves. Hermia said,  
>"Go!"<br>And Maxwell and Aeris ran in.

The doors slammed behind them. The room they were in was dimly lit by Ambrosium torches. There were rooms connected on the other three sides, all of those connecting to three more rooms, and so on. In the center of each room were two chests. Aeris and Maxwell looked at the chests in front of them. Maxwell said,  
>"Where are the anti-theft drones?"<br>Aeris thought.  
>"Well, there were a lot of different types of drones all those years ago."<br>She walked towards the chests, and opened one, saying,  
>"There were the big building defense drones, Sliders, Golems, and there were a few drones designed to stop petty theft. Sentinels, and..."<br>Aeris pulled a pale stone sword and a purple helmet out of the chest.  
>"There was one other type...I can't seem to remember, but it was really effective."<br>Aeris opened the other chest. Before she could see what was inside, it slammed shut on it's own! There were a few clanks and whirs from inside, and suddenly, the chest began to raise up! Two legs extended from the bottom, pushing it upwards. The top of the chest opened slightly, and rows of razor sharp teeth appeared, making a set of jaws. The lid opened slowly, and inside the mouth was a giant eye, staring at them. Maxwell and Aeris backed up, and Aeris said,  
>"<em>Mimics!<em>"

Matilda and Hermia walked through the base. Matilda asked,  
>"You sure they're going to be alright in there?"<br>Hermia said,  
>"Ah, they'll probably be fine. The drones are for neutralization only. Nonlethal."<br>Matilda nodded. She asked,  
>"So, this Neptune guy. What's he like?"<br>Hermia cocked an eyebrow.  
>"Why?"<br>"Well...it's a bit hard to explain. I just..."  
>Hermia said,<br>"Don't go getting a crush, now! He was, what, 374 before he died?"  
>Matilda grinned, rolled her eyes, and said,<br>"No, not like that! I just feel some kind of..._connection._ Like I'm missing something."  
>Matilda looked back at Hermia.<br>"Who was he?"  
>Hermia shrugged.<br>"I dunno. Nobody really knows their names."  
>Hermia looked at Matilda. She said,<br>"But I'd be willing to bet anything that that armor is for you."

Aeris and Maxwell ran through the connected rooms, the Mimic running after them. Aeris looked behind her. The Mimic was a few feet behind them, and it gave a flying leap towards them, it's jaws gaping. Aeris grabbed Maxwell's arm, and pulled him to the floor as the Mimic flew over their heads, sliding across the floor when it landed, hitting it's lid on the wall. It stumbled up, and Maxwell shouted,  
>"<em>Throw your sword!<em>"  
>Aeris tossed her sword at the Mimic. It clattered on the floor a few feet in front of it. Maxwell groaned. The Mimic ran at them, and Aeris spread her wings, and flew over it. Maxwell ran away, and the Mimic chased him around the room. Aeris picked up her sword, and flew at the Mimic. She held out her sword, and hit it head on. The sword went into the Mimic, sending sparks flying across the room. The Mimic keeled over, and Maxwell heard the mechanics winding down. The legs withdrew, the teeth retracted, the lid snapped shut, and all was quiet. Maxwell let out a long breath, and said to Aeris,<br>"You did it!"  
>Aeris looked at her sword, and dusted off some splinters of wood on it. She smiled, and said,<br>"I did!"  
>Aeris walked towards the chests that were in the center of the new room they were in. She held out her sword, and used the tip to carefully open the chest. It opened harmlessly. She looked inside. She pulled out a purple chestplate, and put it on. She looked at Maxwell, and said,<br>"Now, if the last room we were in had one normal chest, and one Mimic, that could mean..."  
>She brandished her sword, and thrust it into the other chest. It wobbled a bit, sparks flew, and it finally lay still. Aeris grinned. She said,<br>"Let's keep going."

After a long while, they finally made it to the other side of the Gauntlet. Mailda and Hermia were waiting for them. Hermia grinned when she saw that Aeris was wearing a helmet, chestplate, and boots, and was holding a purple sword. Matilda asked Maxwell,  
>"How'd she do?"<br>Maxwell nodded, and said,  
>"She did great!"<br>Hermia said to Aeris,  
>"How many Mimics did you take out?"<br>Maxwell and Aeris thought for a moment, then Aeris said,  
>"7."<br>Hermia nodded, and said,  
>"Not bad. A couple more times, and you'll be ready for phase 2."<br>Maxwell asked,  
>"Phase 2?"<br>Hermia nodded, smirked, and said,  
>"There are three phases. the next phase is going through the gauntlet against our Warriors. Now, do you want to go again?"<br>Aeris, was silent, her eyes wide. Then, she said,  
>"I probably should."<br>Hermia said,  
>"Good. Let's get started."<p> 


	23. Chapter 22: Duel

**Oh man, what a month! Dinosaurs, evil overlords, ancient gems...I should write about this sometime.**

* * *

><p>In the winding corridors of the now darkened Gauntlet, a shape brushed through the shadows, followed by another one. It hid behind walls, and when a Valkyrie was approaching, they backed into the shadows. The Valkyrie walked away, and Aeris walked out of the darkness. She had gotten much better in the past two days, and she had moved on to stage 2: Actual swordfights. Hermia had told her that there were 10 warriors roaming the Gauntlet. Each of them was carrying a Victory Medal. She had to retrieve all of them. At first, it would be a stealth exercise, evading the Valkyries until she could equip herself, until she could defeat the warriors and retrieve the medals. She turned behind her, and said,<br>"Alright, come on."  
>Maxwell crept out of the darkness, and watched Aeris walk up to the chest in the center. She was wearing the purple armor (Which Maxwell discovered was named Zanite), except for the chestplate, and she had a stone sword. She reached in the chest, and pulled out a Zanite sword, and Zanite leggings. she put them on, picked up her sword, and said,<br>"Alright. Looks like the stealth portion is over."  
>Maxwell grinned, and said,<br>"Let's get us some medals."

Adriana walked through the corridors of the Gauntlet, preparing to be jumped at any moment. She was grinning. Even though she was helping to train a kid to become a warrior, this was pretty fun. She kept her sword out. Suddenly, she heard something. Footsteps. She snapped to the source of the noise. She raised the sword just soon enough to block...a rock? A rock flew through the air, and bounced off of the sword. Maxwell stepped out of the darkness, grinned, and said,  
>"Hi."<br>There was the swooshing sound of flapping wings behind her. Aeris knocked her to the ground, but Adriana rolled, and assumed a battle stance. She watched Aeris brandish her sword. Adriana grinned, and said,  
>"Hey, pretty slick!"<br>Aeris said,  
>"Thanks."<br>They ran at each other.

Maxwell watched the sword fight. It was fierce. Swords clashing, the occasional spark flying off of one of the swords on impact, ducking, rolling. Finally, Aeris made a sweeping kick, and knocked Adriana to the ground. Aeris held the sword in front of her. Adriana said,  
>"Ouch! Okay, okay, you win!"<br>Adriana got up, and handed Aeris the golden medal. Aeris took it, and held out her sword. She said,  
>"Played well."<br>Adriana held her sword to Aeris's, and said,  
>"Played well."<br>They put their swords in their scabbards, and Adriana walked away into the darkness. Maxwell couldn't help but grin. Two days later, Aeris even gave the warrior's endgame salute. She may be intelligent, but there was a fighter lurking in her somewhere. Aeris turned to Maxwell, and brushed a strand of hair from her face. She said,  
>"Alright, let's find another one."<p>

Aeris made it through Valkyrie after Valkyrie, eventually getting to ten Victory medals. As her and Maxwell walked out of the Gauntlet, Hermia was clapping. Even Matilda looked impressed. Hermia said,  
>"Well played, kid! I honestly didn't expect you to make it first try. Looks like you can go to Phase 3 when you're ready."<br>Aeris excitedly said,  
>"Alright, what's Phase 3?"<br>Hermia smirked, and said,  
>"Me."<br>Aeris said,  
>"Alright, let's do this!"<br>Matilda said,  
>"Are you sure you don't want to train a bit more? Hermia's one of the best fighters I know..."<br>Aeris said,  
>"Well, I think I can take her! Did you see what I did back in the Gauntlet? Let's go! Let's do this!"<br>Hermia shrugged, and pulled out her sword. She said,  
>"Just remember, don't get cocky."<br>Aeris nodded quickly, and pulled out her sword. She ran at Hermia, and brought her sword down, which was quickly and calmly blocked by Hermia. Aeris tried again and again, but Hermia only kept blocking her. Some of the warriors stopped what they were doing, and gathered around to watch. Out of nowhere, Hermia flared her wings, and thrust them at Aeris's face. Aeris was temporarily blinded, and when she could see again, Hermia was gone! Suddenly, Aeris's legs were kicked out from under her, and Aeris fell forward. When she turned over, she was met by the tip of a sword held in front of her. Hermia said,  
>"You got cocky."<br>Aeris sighed.  
>Hermia put her sword in it's scabbard, and held out her hand. As she helped Aeris up, she said,<br>"I'd have to say, when I started training you, I was trying to make you at least passable. But it turns out, you're one of the quickest kids I ever trained. But you can't let yourself get a big head."  
><em>Humility, <em>Maxwell thought. One of the three virtues.  
>Aeris nodded, and walked away.<p>

Aeris walked into her quarters, and drew her sword. She swung it, and praticed blocking and parrying. As she practiced, Maxwell stepped in through the doorway. He knocked on the edge, and said,  
>"Can I come in?"<br>Aeris turned to face him, and said,  
>"Sure, come on in."<br>Maxwell stepped in, and said,  
>"Practicing?"<br>Aeris nodded, and said, practicing a move again,  
>"I have to practice. It's the only way we'll get that armor."<br>Aeris turned to Maxwell again, and said,  
>"Who do you think the armor's for?"<br>Maxwell shrugged, and said,  
>"Definitely not me."<br>Aeris grinned. Then, she asked,  
>"Do you think it's me?"<br>Maxwell looked at her with his hand on his chin. He said,  
>"Hmm...no, I think it would be for Matilda."<br>"How do you know?"  
>Maxwell shrugged again.<br>"Just...just a guess. And besides, I think you would be more like...like..."  
>Maxwell made a snapping noise with his hand*.<br>"Fire!"  
>Aeris cocked an eyebrow.<br>"What, do you think I'm hot headed?"  
>Maxwell shook his head, and said<br>"No, no, Fire has two sides to it! I've seen you out there in the Gauntlet, and you've got both of them! Bright and warm, but if someone's not careful, they're in for trouble."  
>Aeris grinned. Maxwell said,<br>"Alright, let's get training. I can give you a few pointers."

The next day, Aeris walked into the training room again. Hermia was standing over a Valkyrie man doing push ups on his wingtips, his hands behind his back. Hermia said,  
>"38! 39! Come on, let's move! 40!"<br>She looked up to see Aeris and Maxwell. Maxwell looked tired, as if he had been up all night. Aeris loked mildly tired, but still pretty energetic. Aeris held out the ten Victory Medals. She said,  
>"Let's go again."<br>Hermia grinned. She said,  
>"Alright, Achilles, that's enough."<br>The Valkyrie on his wings stood up, and walked away, rubbing one of his wings. Hermia turned to Aeris, and said,  
>"Feeling ready today, are you?"<br>Maxwell looked around, and asked,  
>"Where's Matilda?"<br>Hermia said,  
>"I let her take a closer look at the Neptune armor."<p>

Matilda held the helmet in her hand. It was deep blue, with a golden crown around the top, the front of the crown being a long prong, in between two smaller ones. As she looked at the chestplate, she saw a deep blue gem in the center. The ancient gem. Matilda felt an undescribable connection with the armor. As she turned the helmet over in her hands, she felt something on the inside. She looked at it. It was two words carved into the inside of the helmet! It was from the archaic Valkyrian runes, so she couldn't read it. As she looked at it, she heard footsteps from the open door behind her. She looked behind her to see several Valkyries running down the hallway. Matilda said,  
>"Hey! What's going on?"<br>One of them turned to Matilda, and said,  
>"The kid's taking on Hermia again!"<br>Matilda quickly put the helmet back on it's stand, and ran out.

The two sword clashed together, a spark appearing for an instant before disappearing. Hermia pushed the sword closer to Aeris, but Aeris resisted, pushing it back at her. Aeris finally parried the sword, and flew into the air. Hermia grinned, and spread her wings, flying into the air with one flap. Her and Aeris flew around each other, trading blows, flying all around the room. Maxwell grinned. Nobody else may have noticed Aeris's strategy, but Maxwell did, and he got a feeling Hermia did too. By taking Hermia into the air, Aeris suddenly changed the fight from two dimensions to three. Aeris landed on the ground, and Hermia landed in front of her. Then Maxwell understood. Aeris was going to have Hermia switch between land and air techniques frequently to confuse her! Aeris and Hermia clashed on the ground a little while longer, then Hermia did her blinding trick. Her wing flew at Aeris, but Aeris fell on her knees, and bent backwards, avoiding the wing. She shot up when it had passed over, and thrust herself with her wings behind the recovering Hermia. Aeris did a sweeping kick to Hermia's legs, but then something unexpected happened. Instead of resisting the fall, Hermia simply turned towards her fall, and flapped her wings. Having righted herself, she rushed at Aeris, who took off into the air. Hermia followed her, and Aeris flew at Hermia. Hermia's reaction was a little slower, but she still dodged. The crowd of Warriors cheered. Maxwell heard a voice cheering,  
>"Get her, Aeris!"<br>Maxwell looked behind him, and saw Matilda. Matilda saw Maxwell, and ran up next to him. As Maxwell and Matilda watched Aeris and Hermia maneuvering around each other at lightning speed, Matilda asked Maxwell,  
>"Fill me in."<br>"Aeris is going for confusion. Having Hermia switch from ground to air quickly is shaving her reaction time."  
>Matilda nodded. Maxwell shouted,<br>"Come on Aeris! Let's do this!"  
>Aeris landed, but lost her footing for a moment, and rolled away as Hermia tried to pin her down on landing. Aeris turned around, and ran at Hermia again, but Hermia, in her effort to switch from air to ground techniques, misstepped when she sidestepped, and stumbled. Aeris took advantage of the opportunity, and slammed herself into Hermia's back. The cheering abruptly died. Nobody spoke. Few people breathed. They only watched. Hermia lost her grip on the sword, and fell to the ground. Hermia turned over, and saw the tip of a sword held to her face. The room was frozen. Then, the crowd erupted in cheering. Hermia stood up, and looked at Aeris. She grinned wider than she had ever grinned. Aeris, smiling, held out her sword, and said,<br>"Played well!"  
>Hermia just shook her head in amazement. She said,<br>"I knew there was a warrior in you somewhere!"  
>Hermia picked up her sword, and held it against Aeris's sword, and said,<br>"Played well!"  
>Maxwell and Matilda ran to Aeris. Maxwell picked her up on his shoulders, and Aeris held up her sword in triumph as the crowd cheered. The sword glinted in the light of the glowstone. As the crowd followed Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda, Hermia stood there, and watched, still grinning. She said to herself,<br>"Gravitite had better watch himself."

* * *

><p><strong>*This is primarily due to the fact that Minecraftians have no fingers. The way they snap their hand is the same way that you crack your knuckles. It's a small gas bubble popping between the joints of two bones that they have in their hand. Gross, I know, but necessary to generate that iconic snapping sound. To this day, the way they hold objects is clouded in mystery.<strong>


	24. Chapter 23: Reborn

When everything finally died down, Hermia walked with Aeris, Matilda, and Maxwell down the hallway to the room where they kept Neptune's armor. Hermia said,  
>"Well, a deal's a deal. You got the armor."<br>She looked at them.  
>"Are you positive that it'll work, though?"<br>Maxwell said,  
>"Well, only one way to find out."<br>They arrived at the armor room. Hermia opened the doors, and the group walked in. They stared at the armor for a moment. Maxwell studied it more closely. It was designed for a man, with an enlarged chestplate, and attached to the shoulders was a long blue cape. The shoulder plates were completely gold, and so were the gloves, with the exception of a blue stripe running around them. Hermia took the helmet off of the stand, and tossed it to Matilda.  
>"Matty? You wanna go first?"<br>Matilda nodded. She put on the helmet, and walked up to the set of armor. She put on the leggings, the boots, the gloves, and finally, she held the chestplate above her head, and slipped it on. It was pretty ill fittting. The armor was too big, the chestplate sagged forward, and the helmet sat crooked on her head. She struggled to hold the leggings up. Nothing happened. Then she remembered. She turned to Maxwell, and said,  
>"Where's my sword? And my knives?"<br>Maxwell reached into the satchel the Warriors had given him, and pulled out the four small knives. She put them on her belt, and Maxwell handed her her sword. As he held it out, Matilda reached out for it. She took a deep breath. She said softly,  
>"Here goes nothing."<br>She grabbed the sword, and put it on her belt. For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, there was a creaking sound. She looked down. The armor began to bend! The chestplate compressed in on itself, along with the helmet, the gloves, the leggings...when it was all over, the armor had become a perfect fit. Suddenly, Matilda felt energy surging through her. The gem in the chestplate began to vibrate. She started to breathe heavily. She clutched her chest. Hermia took a step forward, but Maxwell stopped her. The armor began to glow. The air around her swirled. The room was filled with a blue and golden glow. The winds became so strong that Hermia, Aeris, and Maxwell had to close their eyes. Matilda fell down on one knee, a voice repeatedly saying the three words:  
>"You are worthy."<br>Then, as quickly as it had started, the winds died down. The voice stopped. Matilda's cape fell to rest at her feet. Maxwell, Aeris, and Hermia opened their eyes, and stared in awe. Slowly, panting, Matilda stood. Her hair, wings, and eyes had become a deep, shimmering blue. Her sword and knives had turned silver. She looked at her hands. Maxwell said,  
>"Wow...how do you feel?"<br>Matilda was silent. Then, she said,  
>"I feel..."<br>She looked at Maxwell. She smiled slightly.  
>"I feel like a test drive's in order. Don't you?"<p>

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda stood on an island just outside the base, accompanied by Hermia and the Free Warriors, seeing them off. Matilda stood on the edge of the island, her cape flapping in the wind. Maxwell had to admit, she looked pretty epic. Maxwell walked up next to her, and said,  
>"Remember, take it slow. It might take time for your powers to develop."<br>Matilda grinned, and said,  
>"I already feel like I can..."<br>Matilda looked confused for a moment.  
>"Those big blue areas that I see on Earth <em>are <em>made of water, right?"  
>Maxwell grinned, and said,<br>"Yeah, they're called oceans."  
>"Well, I feel like I can move one of those."<br>Maxwell, still grinning, backed up. Hermia shouted,  
>"Alright, back up! Give her some room to work!"<br>The crowd backed up a few steps, and waited intently. Matilda took a deep breath. Then, slowly, she closed her eyes, and raised her hands. There was a silence, then, suddenly, a group of passing clouds began to shift in a different direction. As everyone began to realize this, the crowd started to murmur. Maxwell and Aeris stared in amazement, as the clouds moved in their direction, and eventually engulfed the crowd! For a few moments, everything was plunged into a deep fog. Maxwell could barely see Aeris standing next to him! Then, the fog lifted. And it lifted. And it lifted. Maxwell looked up, and saw the clouds ascending higher and higher into the air, until they finally stopped about ten blocks above everybody's heads. Maxwell looked at Matilda, who was facing them now, her eyes open, apparently even more amazed than they were. She stared at the clouds, her arms outstretched, mouth gaping. Maxwell said,  
>"Hey! Matilda!"<br>Matilda looked at Maxwell, the amazed look on her face unchanged. Maxwell said,  
>"Let's make it rain!"<br>Matilda smiled, and looked back at the clouds. She brought her hands closer together, and slowly, the clouds started to compress. As they got smaller and smaller, they turned darker and darker grey. Then, Matilda let her hands drop, and Maxwell felt a raindrop hit the top of his head. Then another on his shoulder. Before long, the group was caught in a downpour, but Maxwell didn't feel anything after the first two raindrops. He looked around, and saw that the raindrops weren't hitting him, but warping around him! He looked over at Aeris, and she was completely dry! Maxwell looked at Matilda, who was holding one hand out. Then, she held both of them out, and there was silence. No sound of raindrops hitting the ground, no thunder, nothing. Maxwell looked around, and saw the raindrops frozen in the air. Then, they floated back up. They started to merge in one spot above their heads, and the clouds began to funnel into the growing ball of water. The rain on the ground floated back up. The ball grew larger, and larger, until it was as big as a man (Or Valkyrie), and then it spiraled into the air, stretching and contorting, moving through the air like a giant transparent snake. It flew down to Maxwell, spiraled around him, then Aeris, and then, it shot into the air, and exploded into a firework of water, and finally, drops of water fell on everybody. Maxwell was soaked, but he didn't care. He looked at Matilda, who was soaking wet, but the happiest he had ever seen since Mercury's funeral. Maxwell and Aeris ran to Matilda as quickly as they could. Maxwell struggled to find words. He said,  
>"That...that was..."<br>Aeris said,  
>"<em>Awesome!<em>"  
>Matilda said nothing. She just stood there, smiling. Hermia walked up, saying,<br>"Quite the show there."  
>Matilda said nothing. She only nodded. Hermia continued,<br>"Well, I won't hold you back any longer. You need to get to Vulcaneum."  
>She turned to Aeris.<br>"And, kid? Remember, you're always welcome to join us if you get the notion."  
>Aeris smiled.<p>

* * *

><p>In the pitch black skies of Cloud City, on the other side of the Aether, two dark shapes flew over the streets, now desolated after centuries of the Cockatrices building nests in windows, in doorways, on top of Glowstone posts, and scattered all across the ground. The two shapes flew towards what was once downtown. As they flew over the faint redstone torchlight, the forms of Gravitite and Veronus could be seen. Veronus looked at Gravitite, and asked,<br>"Excuse me for asking, sir, but why'd we leave Ambrosium City to rot? It had resources for thousands of people."  
>Gravitite replied,<br>"People, not Cockatrices. Besides, this is the only place where we can take care of our most important goal."  
>"Yeah, building the army."<br>"Not quite."  
>"What?"<br>As they flew, Gravitite pulled the book out of his pocket. He asked,  
>"I've never told you the true nature of this book, have I?"<br>Gravitite tossed it to Veronus. Veronus looked at the green cover. He said,  
>"Yeah. What's it for?"<br>"In this particular book are blueprints. For a very powerful machine."  
>Gravitite and Veronus landed at the only building that was completely fine. Gravitite's old lab. Him and Veronus walked through the doors, and down a flight of stairs as Gravitite continued.<br>"I managed to get my hands on one page of it, but that only gave me enough information to build one portion of it. It worked well enough to counter the Aether's rotation, allowing the Cockatrices to breed in complete, unbroken darkness. Now, with the rest of the book, we can finally get back to the important things."  
>Veronus flipped through the pages, and said,<br>"What's this stuff? En...Enderozy...some blue orb. It says it powers this thing."  
>Gravitite grinned.<br>"That," he said, "Is one of my greatest achievements. I made a decent substitute. And now..."  
>Gravitite approached a door, and pushed a button on the lock next to it. Gravitite said,<br>"Benedict Kar'dign."  
>The door slid open, and Gravitite walked in. Veronus looked at the massive pile of metal and wiring sitting in the middle of the room. Several Cockatrices were dragging in components and materials, and some were using their beaks to peck parts into place. Gravtite said,<br>"We can complete what I've been dying to finish for so long."  
>Gravitite walked out, leaving the book with Veronus. As he walked away, he said,<br>"Use the blueprints to have the Cockatrices finish the machine. From this point forward, completing the Forge is your first priority. I'll make the preparations for the Earth dweller."


	25. Chapter 24: Vulcaneum

In the forests of Kliffwood, three forms flew towards the mountain off in the distance with renewed vigor. Maxwell rode his Moa, weaving in between trees and rocks, and Aeris and Matilda flew as fast as their wings could take them. Suddenly, Maxwell saw something that made him slide to a stop. Aeris and Matilda kept going, but Maxwell came to a grinding halt where the forest ended at a sheer drop. The next island over was hundreds of blocks away, charred and blackened by the eruptions of Vulcaneum. He shouted to Aeris and Matilda,  
>"Hey! Wait!"<br>Aeris and Matilda stopped and turned around. Maxwell sat there on his Moa. He shouted,  
>"What about me?"<br>Aeris looked at Matilda, and said,  
>"Think you could use your powers to get him across?"<br>Matilda replied,  
>"I don't need to. There's clouds <em>everywhere.<em>"  
>Maxwell looked around. Sure enough, there were white, blue, and golden clouds scattered around the gap. Maxwell said,<br>"Yeah. So what?"  
>"You can jump across them."<br>Maxwell looked at the cloud in front of him  
>"You mean you can actually <em>stand <em>on these things?"  
>Matilda nodded,and said,<br>"Yeah…now come on!"  
>Maxwell looked at a white cloud a few blocks in front of him. Needless to say, he was nervous. Walking on clouds? Wasn't that impossible? And the Aether was above cloud level! How did he know that these were <em>really <em>clouds?* Still, Matilda hadn't lied to him yet. He might as well try, but he'll save some of the Moa's energy in case he had to fly back. He slowly edged to the end of the cliff. He kept telling himself to not look down. He looked at the cloud a few blocks in front of him. It was pure white. He flew the Moa over, and gently, ever so gently, landed on it. It began to sink, and Maxwell's heart raced as he looked through the transparent cloud, to see the earth thousands of blocks down below him. He sank almost a block into the cloud before he finally stopped moving. He loosened his grip on the Moa's reins. He breathed a sigh of relief, and grinned. He looked to Aeris and Matilda. Matilda smiled, and gestured for him to come on. Maxwell flew over to another cloud. He sank again, and stopped. He flew to another, and another. Soon, he was making good progress across the gap, accompanied by Aeris and Matilda. He flew from cloud to cloud, and as he flew, he noticed that there was a different one in his path. It was blue! Was it any different from the others, or was it just blue for some reason? He flew his Moa over it, and Matilda saw him about to land on it. Her eyes widened, she held out her hands, and said,  
>"Wait, <em>don't land on the blue-<em>"  
>Before she could finish, Maxwell had landed on it. In an instant, Maxwell shot into the sky, screaming. The Moa squawked in surprise as Maxwell and his Moa were separated, tumbling through the air. They fell back down to the cloud, and were shot back up once more, but something was wrong. They had gone off at an angle. They weren't going to land on a cloud this time. Matilda quickly held out her hand, and pulled a white Aercloud under Maxwell, and Maxwell and his Moa landed softly on it. Matilda and Aeris flew over to Maxwell, who was only just starting to sit up. Matilda helped him up, asking,<br>"Are you okay?"  
>Maxwell replied,<br>"Well, I think my heart may have mildly stopped, but other than that, I'm fine."  
>Matilda sighed in relief. They just stood there for a moment. Then, Aeris stifled a laugh. Then, she giggled. Matilda felt a smile tugging at her cheeks. Maxwell was starting to smile too. Matilda, struggling to stop herself, said,<br>"This isn't funny, guys!"  
>Her voice started to waver as she said it, and before long, all of them were rolling on the cloud, laughing hysterically. The Moa just stood above them, and started to preen it's feathers. After they could finally talk again, Aeris wiped the tears from her eyes, and sat up. Maxwell sat up after her, and as Matilda sat up, he said,<br>"But seriously, though, good catch with the cloud."  
>"Thanks.", Matilda replied.<br>The sat there, watching the view in silence for a few minutes. Aeris looked to the sky, and said,  
>"Does the sun look like it's moved to you?"<br>Maxwell and Matilda looked up, and Maxwell said,  
>"Hard to tell, really. We haven't come that far."<br>Aeris cocked an eyebrow, and said,  
>"If it took us this long to get here, and the sun's only moved that much, how are we going to get to the other side of the Aether?!"<br>Maxwell replied,  
>"Well, the note from Mercury said that we need a Nether portal. My-"<br>"Wait, the Nether?!"  
>"Yeah. Why?"<br>Matilda looked at Maxwell, and said,  
>"The Nether is this mythical place that's the polar <em>opposite<em>of the Aether. Are you talking about the same one?"  
>Maxwell nodded. Aeris grinned, and said,<br>"It exists?!"  
>Maxwell continued,<br>"Yeah. We use it for transportation. We found out that if you ignite the inside of a ring of Obsidian, you can go to the Nether. Normally, it was a forbidden zone, a no-man's land. But then we discovered something. There was a guy who got separated from his portal in the Nether, and in a last ditch effort to get home, he used the Obsidian he had to get back home. When he came back, he was eight times farther from the portal than he had traveled in the Nether. That's when we made the connection. We built a network of portals, and we use it to get from place to place. My guess is, we can use it to get to Gravitite's base with it."  
>Aeris grinned even wider, and said,<br>"Awesome!"  
>Matilda asked,<br>"But how will we know where to build the exit portal?"  
>Maxwell shrugged, and said,<br>"I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there."  
>Suddenly, Maxwell heard a noise. It was a deep, resonant wailing noise. It went on for a full two seconds, and Maxwell could hear it getting closer. As he windered what it was, he saw Aeris getting up, and walking to the edge of the cloud. Then, suddenly, a giant flying whale flew straight up past them! It was a pale blue, with gold lines around their eyes, and white markings right below the grey on the tops of their bodies. Maxwell stared as several more followed behind it, and they leveled out and flew across the Aether in a giant group. Aeris said,<br>"It's a pod of Aerwhales!"  
>Maxwell watched as one of the young ones broke away from the group. It slowly floated over to him, and nudged him with it's giant muzzle. Maxwell was pushed back a couple of feet, and the sudden movement startled the creature. One of the older ones noticed, and floated over, nudging the young Aerwhale back towards the pod. It reluctantly flew away from these three odd looking creatures, and in a few waves of it's massive tail, it was back alongside it's mother. It playfully pushed under her flipper with it's head. A hissing noise came out of the mother's blowhole, releasing a stream of white Aerclouds behind it. Maxwell sat back in wonder. Matilda said,<br>"They're beautiful."  
>Aeris nodded, and said,<br>"They can outlive Valkyries, you know. They can live for thousands of years."  
>She shook her head, and said,<br>"Man. If those things could talk."  
>Maxwell was silent for a moment. As he watched the pod passing by them, he said,<br>"I wish every day was like this."  
>He turned to Matilda and said,<br>"When all of this blows over, what do you think you'll be doing?"  
>Matilda thought. Then, she said,<br>"Well, I think that my normal life is pretty much over."  
>"Yeah, and you have a pretty long life ahead of you. Compared to me, at least. Humans only live for 100 years, if they're <em>extremely<em> lucky."  
>"Really? That must stink."<br>Maxwell nodded. Then, he said,  
>"But that gets me thinking. If I'm not even a Valkyrie, how am I going to be the <em>Gilded <em>Valkyrie?"  
>Aeris said,<br>"Well...maybe not, but the prophecy _did _specifically say 'One with no wings', so there's gotta be a reason."  
>"Yeah...you're probably right."<br>Aeris sat down again, and asked Maxwell,  
>"So. What do <em>you <em>plan on doing after this?"  
>"I dunno. It sure looks like I'm set to be here for a while. I guess I'll just make it up as I go."<br>Maxwell looked at the sun to tell the time. Then he remembered that the sun didn't move up here. What time _was _it? They had only defeated Hermia that morning, and they had been walking for a few hours...Maxwell looked to the island, and saw the giant face of Vulcaneum in the distance. They should probably get going. Maxwell pushed himself to his feet, and said to Aeris and Matilda,  
>"Well, we should probably keep going. We've gotta get to Vulcaneum before it gets late."<br>Matilda nodded, and said,  
>"I agree. Break time's over."<br>Aeris sighed, and stood up. Maxwell mounted his Moa, and flew to the next cloud over. Matilda and Aeris spread their wings, and took off. They caught up with the pod of Aerwhales as they flew, and the giant creatures watched as the rushed past them. The baby let out a deep, bellowing song as the trio passed them. Aeris waved as they flew towards Vulcaneum.

The two massive Zanite doors blocking the entrance to the giant mountain towered over them, like giants guarding a hoard of treasure. They were elaborately carved, with depictions of Aerwhales, Valkyries, and Moas covering their worn purple surfaces. Despite their intimidating appearance, Maxwell was surprised that they were still intact. Didn't the Cockatrices destroy this place? Maxwell walked up to the doorway, flanked by Aeris and Matilda. Maxwell turned to Matilda, and said,  
>"Think your powers can make a dent in it?"<br>Matilda replied warily,  
>"I can try."<br>She closed her eyes, and raised her hand. Maxwell looked behind them, and saw one of the waterfalls coming out of one of the islands behind them contorting, and bending towards them. Matilda opened her eyes, and said,  
>"You may want to step aside."<br>Maxwell and Aeris quickly moved away, amd Matilda thrust her hand forward. The waterfall blasted forward in a concentrated stream, and pounded againt the Zanite doors. She kept going until there was no water left in the waterfall to use, and let what was left run down. After she caught her breath, her eyes widened, and she cocked an eyebrow.  
>"What?"<br>She said. There was some damage, but barely! Some of the carvings were worn down, but this was some incredibly strong Zanite! She looked at her hands, and said,  
>"I don't understand! Blasts of water were used to <em>etch<em>things like this!"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Those ancient blacksmiths never missed a trick, did they?"  
>Aeris said,<br>"Never. They knew how to harden average materials to more than five times their normal resilience. It's why their armors are so legendary."  
>Maxwell rubbed his forehead, and he thought. The Cockatrices had to get in somehow, but it definitely wasn't through this door. Thenn, he made another snapping noise with his hand. Of course! He jumped on his Moa, and said to Aeris and Matilda,<br>"Follow me!"  
>He ran away from the door. Aeris and Matilda looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Maxwell. Maxwell flew his Moa, and tried to fly up the side of the mountain. However, the Moa just didn't have the energy to make it up the mountain, and whenever it tried to grip the side, the rock was too steep, and it slid back down to the ground. After the third attempt, it just laid on the ground, panting. Maxwell got up. Aeris said,<br>"We're gonna have to leave the Moa."  
>Maxwell sighed.<p>

Matilda set Maxwell on the edge of the gaping hole on the top of the volcano. Maxwell said,  
>"Just like I thought! This is our entrance!"<br>Aeris scratched her head, and said,  
>"But I don't get it. Wouldn't the smiths take that into account? Why didn't they block the top?<br>Maxwell replied,  
>"If they blocked up the top, they would block out any air, or the top would blow off from the expansion of the hot air inside. The best they could do was fortify it with guards, but..."<br>Maxwell gestured to a pile of severely damaged armor scattered across the mountain.  
>"The Cockatrices got past that when they took over."<br>Aeris said,  
>"Do you think they're still in there? The Cockatrices?"<br>Maxwell shook his head, and said,  
>"There's no food sources for miles around. That would never support an animal that multiplies as fast as they do."<br>Maxwell looked down. He saw the bottom of the Volcano, a giant pit of lava, and two bridges crossing above it. They led to the edges of the mountain, where homes were carved into the sides, clad with Zanite, with no windows. Doubtlessly to protect the blacksmiths from eruptions. Maxwell said,  
>"Alright. Lower me in."<p>

Maxwell's feet hit the warm floor of the intersection between the two bridges. He looked around, and drew his sword. He didn't expect any trouble, but you never knew. Matilda drew her sword, and asked,  
>"Hey Maxwell?"<br>"Yeah?"  
>"The note said that the weapon's true power would come with the gem, right?"<br>"Last I checked."  
>"Then why are my sword and knives still only iron?"<br>"I dunno. Maybe there's more to them than that."  
>"How do you know."<br>Maxwell shrugged, and said,  
>"I don't."<br>Suddenly, Maxwell heard something. Footsteps. Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda looked behind them, and they saw hundreds of yellow eyes staring back at them. Cockatrice eyes. Maxwell brandished his sword, and said,  
>"But it looks like it's time to find out!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>* Maxwell's inquiry in this matter was absolutely not without foundation. Clouds found in the Aether are not clouds, but <em>Aer<em>clouds, which is what the Aerwhales spew out of their ****blowholes when they're in the Aether. They don't look too dissimilar from normal whales, except for the fact that they fly. They're also _massively _resilient, able to generate enough light gas inside them to "Dive" through the vacuum below the Aether, and enter Earth's atmosphere, where they feed off of Earth's clouds, (Filter feeding for the microorganisms that live in clouds) and return to the Aether, where they blow the byproduct out of their blowholes, mixed with the whale's mucous proteins in the blowhole, (What? Whales have snot too.) And it expands, becomes semi-solid, and begins to float as an Aercloud. Occasionally, the whale will leave some microorganisms behind, and if one of the types multiplies in the cloud and becomes the _only _type in the Aercloud, it can change it's properties, which can lead to…interesting results.**


	26. Chapter 25: The Master Smelter

**Alright, new plan! What I'll do is keep doing the Minecraft Fanfictions on here, and have links to the specific ones on my website. I apologize for my extreme lack of decisiveness.**

**Anyway, on with the story**

**ADN CHEK OUT MY SIT ITZ RLY GUD**

**Sorry. My inner noob came out again.**

* * *

><p>Matilda grabbed Maxwell's arm, and took off down the bridge at full speed. Maxwell's arm was nearly taken out of it's socket, but he was more concerned with the fact that there were roughly 500 Cockatrices opening fire on them at that moment. The poison tipped arrows whizzed past him, but unfortunately for the Cockatrices that fired them, Matilda had, at that moment, dove over the edge of the bridge, and flew under. Aeris followed closely. Matilda looked around quickly, saw a bunker that wasn't locked up, and flew towards it. Maxwell was flung into the room, and Matilda and Aeris quickly closed the door as hundreds more darts flew towards them. Maxwell could hear the sounds of the darts hitting the door. Matilda turned to Aeris, and said,<br>"Aeris, you're the biologist. This colony survived without food, probably since they took over this place. _How?!_"  
>Aeris thought, and said,<br>"Well, maybe they-"  
>Suddenly, she noticed something. In the corner of the room, there was a large pile of debris, laid out in an odd pattern. As she walked closer, Aeris saw two small yellow eyes, staring at her from the darkness in the corner. It chirped, and walked closer. Maxwell drew his sword, and out of the darkness came...a baby Cockatrice. As they looked at it, they saw something hanging from it's mouth. Feathers. It chirped again, and quickly ran back to the pile. Aeris said, quietly,<br>"A nest!"  
>Maxwell walked up to it, and looked in. He quickly turned his head away, and said,<br>"Apparently they're not above cannibalism."  
>Matilda shuddered. Aeris said,<br>"So...now what? We're surrounded!"  
>Maxwell looked at Matilda, and said,<br>"Maybe you could do your thing?"  
>Matilda sighed, and held up her hand. There was the sound of water from outside, and for the first time, they heard nothing. No squawking, no darts, nothing. Maxwell opened the door a crack, and looked out. He didn't see anything. He looked down below, and saw a Cockatrice foot for an instant, before it finally sank below the lava. Next to it, was a giant patch of Obsidian, doubtlessly where the water had landed. He sighed in relief. He walked out, and said,<br>"All clear! You got them!"  
>Matilda stepped out, followed by Aeris. The walked out slowly. Still, nothing. Matilda sighed, and said,<br>"Alright then. Let's get our Portal."  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Alright. We can't use the obsidian that you made down there, because we don't have any diamond tools to mine it."  
>He turned to Aeris, and said,<br>"Aeris, is there a way that we can cast obsidian block by block, so we can build the portal ourselves?"  
>Aeris pointed down to the lava pool, where there was a small tunnel, where lava ran out. She said,<br>"We'll have to go to the Master's smelting room. That's where the Master Smelter lived, and where he had a private collection of specialized smelting tools. He even had a private lava pool. If the tools for that are anywhere, it's down there."  
>Maxwell nodded, and said,<br>"Then that's where we're going. Can we go through the tunnel?"  
>"Not unless you feel like roasting yourself. There's not nearly enough room for a person in the lavaduct. We'll have to find the entrance."<br>Maxwell looked around as he walked up the stairway that was carved into the side of the mountain, and lead to the bridges. Matilda and Aeris followed. Suddenly, something landed on the stair behind them. Their heads snapped around, and met the glowing yellow eyes of a Cockatrice! It opened it's mouth to fire a dart, and the three of them hit the floor. The dart whizzed over their heads as they ducked, only missing by an inch or two. Aeris kicked the Cockatrice in the leg, causing it to lose it's balance for a moment, but it quickly regained it's footing, arched it's head back, and thrust it's beak towards Aeris. Aeris rolled to the side, and the beak hit the stone stairway, chipping the step. The bird squawked in pain, and shook it's head in agitation. Seizing the opportunity, Matilda pulled out her knives, and threw them at the Cockatrice. One landed in it's wing, but the other three landed squarely in it's chest. It toppled over, kicked it's leg, and laid still. Matilda walked up to it, pulled out the knives, and put them on her belt. Then, they heard more squawking. Matilda, Aeris, and Maxwell looked behind them, and saw all of the Cockatrices they had seen earlier running towards them, wings flared! Matilda grabbed Maxwell, and once again, they took off, running from hundreds of Cockatrices. Maxwell said,  
>"I could have sworn you got them! I saw one sinking in the lava!"<br>Aeris said,  
>"For all we know, they could have pushed it in!"<br>They flew up to the bridge, and flew towards where it led, to a large opening in the rock. They flew in, followed by the horde, and they flew down a spiral staircase, leading down into the depths of Vulcaneum. At the end of the staircase, they saw a double door, made from Zanite, presumably strengthened in the same way as the doors out front. They were wide open. There were runes inscribed on the rock above, and Aeris looked at them, and said,  
>"This is it! We're here!"<br>They flew at top speed into the room, and slammed the doors behind them. They struggled to hold the doors closed as the horde of Cockatrices slammed against the slabs of Zanite. Maxwell said to Aeris,  
>"Get something to barricade the door!"<br>Quickly, Aeris ran around the room, looking for something to use. It was a large room, with a door on one of the walls, marked in runes,  
>"Bed Chambers"<br>On the oppposite side of the room, Aeris saw where the lavaduct emptied into a pool, surrounded by siphons and casting basins. At the back, she saw a large table, and on it, a long strip of Zanite. Perfect. She grabbed it, ran over to the doors, and quickly ran it through the door's handles. Maxwell and Matilda slowly backed away. The doors rattled with the force of hundred of Cockatrices trying to break through, but the Zanite held. Maxwell sighed in relief. He turned around, and said,  
>"Alright, Aeris. Where are the tools?"<br>Aeris walked to the lava pool, and picked up a large, cubed casting basin. She said,  
>"Right here."<p>

About half an hour later, the portal was complete. Maxwell placed the last block, and stepped back. It was perfect. Matilda said,  
>"Alright, let's light the..."<br>She paused, and then yawned. Maxwell felt his eyes getting heavy too. He said,  
>"Before we go, let's get some rest. Believe me, I've heard the stories about that place. We're gonna need all the strength we can get."<br>Aeris nodded, and said,  
>"Follow me."<p>

As they slept in the smelter's quarters, Aeris on the bed, and Maxwell and Matilda on the floor, Maxwell tossed and turned on the cold brick as he slept. In his head, nightmares kept his dreams in an iron grip. In one of them, him, Aeris, and Matilda were walking through the Nether, and suddenly, Gravitite appreared, and used his gravity fields to pull the Netherrack out from under them, sending them tumbling towards the lava. Matilda caught Maxwell by the arm, but Aeris was sent down into the lava, splashing in the thick liquid, and disappearing. Maxwell looked up at Matilda as she struggled to hold him in the air, but continually lowering towards the lava. Before long, Maxwell's feet were almost touching the surface, and sweat was rolling down his face. He looked up at Matilda, he saw that her armor, hair, and wings were turning white. As Maxwell stared in horror, Matilda groaned, and suddenly, evaporated into a cloud of steam. Maxwell was sent tumbling into the lava, and he could almost feel the lava burning him, and suddenly, he woke up. He was drenched in sweat. He stood up, and looked around. Aeris slept soundly, but Matilda was staring at Maxwell. She said,  
>"Maxwell? What's wrong?"<br>Maxwell ran his trembling hands through his hair, and said,  
>"Nothing, just...just a crazy dream."<br>Matilda nodded, and said,  
>"Was it about the Nether?"<br>Maxwell sat down on the floor, and nodded. He said,  
>"But we should probably try to get some sleep."<br>Matilda nodded in agreement, and laid back down. Maxwell rested on the bricks, and tried to go back to sleep. After a little while, he heard Matilda's steady breathing as she slept soundly. Before too much longer, however, Maxwell finally drifted off to sleep.


	27. Chapter 26: Forged in Fire

The next morning (Or whatever time it was when the trio awoke) they stood before the Nether portal, Maxwell holding the flint and steel from one of the Master Smelter's chests. Maxwell turned to Aeris and Matilda, and said,  
>"Alright, before we start, I need to tell you what we're about to step into. Matilda, your powers aren't going to help us. There's no water in the Nether, and even if we brought some with us, it'll evaporate almost immediately. We're going to need to find the exit portal as soon as possible, before we get dehydrated, which is going to happen pretty fast in 135 degree weather."<br>Aeris asked,

"How are we going to find an exit quickly enough? Isn't the Nether pretty big?"  
>Maxwell, after a pause, replied,<br>"I have no idea. But if this is what we're supposed to do, we've gotta do it."  
>Maxwell turned around, and lifted the flint above the steel. He struck the two objects together, sending a shower of sparks flying down on the inside of the portal. after a pause, the sparks began to levitate, and turn purple. they began to swell up, and swirl around, until the inside of the portal was engulfed in a purple vortex. Maxwell looked over his shoulder at Aeris and Matilda, and asked,<br>"You ready?"  
>Matilda drew her sword, and said,<br>"Let's do this."  
>Aeris pulled out her wooden sword, and said,<br>"Let's try, anyway."  
>Maxwell smiled, pulled out his sword, and jumped into the vortex. Aeris and Matilda spread their wings, and flew in at top speed.<p>

The trip there was anything but comfortable. I mean, how would you feel to have every atom in your body taken apart, and reassembled in a different world? The sensation is unpleasantly like being drunk, but not like too much beer drunk, it's more like being the beer. In any event, the three fell flat on their stomachs on a red, rock-like substance. Aeris slowly pushed herself up, and looked at the ground. Netherrack. The heat was tremendous here. She looked around, and saw a massive system of caverns, oceans made of lava, and lava falls. The only thing she recognized in here was the glowstone hanging from the top of the caverns, like stalactites. Before her or Matilda could do anything else, they heard Maxwell's voice, saying,  
>"Alright, let's get moving."<br>Aeris looked at Maxwell, standing in front of them. He held his hand out to Aeris, and helped her to her feet. Matilda had already gotten up, and they all stood together for a moment. The two Valkyries were unsteady on their feet. Maxwell said,  
>"Well? What do you think?"<br>Matilda said,  
>"It's <em>hot <em>in here."  
>As Maxwell looked at Matilda, he could see that her armor, hair, and wings were a little paler than usual. Maxwell asked,<br>"Are you alright?"  
>Matilda nodded, saying,<br>"Yeah. Just a little light-headed, that's all."  
>Maxwell said,<br>"Alright. Let's get moving."

As the trio walked through the Nether...what is the Nether? I should probably explain that before I go any further. If you read the first book, you might recall the little scenario of 'The Earth of another Earth'. It was referring to Netherrack, and the name is just as accurate today as it was then. When the Ancient villagers discovered the Nether, they thought it to be the world of the dead, a sort of Netherworld, hence it's ominous name. However, the villagers had stumbled upon a means of traveling to an otherwise inaccessible planet in Minecraft's solar system. And even a year ago, we thought it couldn't be anything other than a different reality, since we thought there could be nothing beyond our moon and sun. Really shows you how much we've changed, huh? Anyway, the Nether is the equivalent of the planet in your Solar System by the name of Mercury, however, being the closest planet to the sun is where the similarities end. The Nether has a crust made entirely of bedrock, which shields the mantle made of Netherrack, which is filled with caverns and lava flows. In fact, the lava oceans in the Nether are the planet's core. And it is by one of the core oceans that Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked, on a small land bridge in between two Netherrack islands. The cavern went in one general direction, from what they could see, so that was where they were walking now. As Maxwell looked in the distance, he saw something, almost blending in with the reddish black fog. He stopped, and squinted, wondering if it truly was wha he thought it was. Matilda asked,  
>"Why are we stopping?"<br>As she looked in the distance, she saw it too. Maxwell's eyes widened, as he came to the full realization of what he was looking at. Standing in the distance, like some kind of massive, ominous wall blocking their path, was a Nether fortress.

It stood completely blocking the cavern, and at the bottom of the wall was a gate, probably to restrict travelers. Aeris saw it, and asked,  
>"Why is a <em>building <em>down here?!"  
>Maxwell replied gravely,<br>"Because we're not the only things down here."  
>He paused, and then said,<br>"Or the meanest."  
>Suddenly, Maxwell heard Matilda say,<br>"Guys, we have company."  
>Suddenly, a screeching cry filled the air, sounding like the distorted wailing of a baby. Maxwell looked around for the source of the noise, and drew his sword. The way the noise was emitted, it filled the air, seeming to come from every direction, not diminished by distance. It made the group's ears ring. Matilda said,<br>"What in Notch's name was _that?!_"  
>"Ghast! Get to a cave!"<br>The three ran towards the wall, which was across a land bridge across a lava ocean. As they ran, a projectile hit the bridge and, Netherrack shards splintering everywhere, a gaping hole was made in the bridge. As Matilda got ready to carry Maxwell again, a massive white creature floated down in front of them. It was a massive white cube, with tentacles coming out of the bottom. It's eyes were tightly shut, and it made another wailing noise. The three ran back, and as they ran, another one blocked their path. It's eyes opened, revealing the blood red irises, and it's mouth opened. Maxwell could see the fireball forming in it's mouth. Maxwell brandished his sword, and ran at the creature. Aeris asked,  
>"Maxwell! What are you doing?!"<br>Before anything else could be said, the Ghast shot a fireball out of it's mouth, and as it flashed towards Maxwell, he swung his sword, and deflected it back at the creature. The fireball exploded on impact, and with a high pitched screech, it fell to the ground, slid off the bridge, and sank into the lava below. Matilda drew her sword, and flew at the other Ghast, who shot a fireball, but Matilda hadn't really become skilled in deflecting fireballs quite yet. She swung her sword, and missed. The fireball sturck her squarely in the chest, and detonated, sending her flying. Maxwell shouted,  
>"Matilda!"<br>Aeris flew after her as she fell towards the lava. Maxwell threw his sword at the Ghast. The sword struck it in the eye, and the creature screeched and fell into the lava. Maxwell looked over the edge of the bridge, and saw Aeris struggling to hold an unconscious Matilda above the lava. Aeris slowly began to float up, until they were next to the bridge, where Maxwell grabbed Aeris by the collar, and pulled her up. Aeris dropped Matilda onto the bridge, and landed, putting her hands on her knees, panting. Maxwell shook Matilda, saying,  
>"Matilda! Are you alright?"<br>Matilda said nothing. She just laid there. Her armor, hair, and wings were even paler. Maxwell said,  
>"We're gonna have to carry her."<br>Maxwell put his arms under her, and picked her up. She was lighter than he had expected. Not just hollow bones light, but _really _light. She couldn't have been more than 20 or 30 pounds when he picked her up! As he began to turn around, he heard a voice. It had a snarling, distorted, screechy voice. It shouted,  
>"Stay where you are!"<br>Maxwell stopped.  
>"Put the girl down, and put your hands in the air!"<br>Maxwell slowly set Matilda on the ground, and he and Aeris raised their hands and turned around. Before them stood a horde of humanoid creatures, with pig's faces. Their pink skin was gone in some places, revealing bones. They wore loincloths around their waists, and carried golden swords. Maxwell grimaced. Pigmen. The one in front had brown skin, and tusks, but one of them was broken. He carried a reddish black sword, looking almost like an oversized hook. He barked,  
>"You are to come with us to the fortress. If you resist, you will be immediately incinerated. If you have a problem with that, please."<br>He grinned.  
>"Try and test me."<p> 


	28. Chapter 27: Inmate

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda sat in a sweltering hot cell in the prisons of the Nether Fortress. Matilda sat on the bed, obviously perturbed. With good reason, too. She had woken up to being thrown into a prison cell by an anthropomorphic pig with patches of exposed bones.***  
><strong>They had been sitting there for about 5 hours, with the two pigmen guarding the cell in front of them drinking from goblets filled with lava. After 5 hours, a pigman walked up, and said something to the two guards in a strange language. The guards nodded, and opened up the cell. They barked,  
>"Alright, prisoners! Come with us!"<p>

Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked, chained, into the large chamber, elaborately carved into one of the cave walls. Quartz pillars supported the structure, and on either side of the throne at the back of the room, there were balconies about five blocks off the ground, with squealing pigmen raising a racket. Aeris asked Maxwell,  
>"What is this, some kind of jury?"<br>Maxwell nodded. He said,  
>"My kind and their's have a history. Let me do the talking."<br>In the throne at the back of the room sat the tusked pigman, lounging lazily. When he spoke, he did so half-heartedly, like he had better things to do. He said,  
>"Human, and unidentified beings! You have been summoned to this hearing for intruding on the grounds of Brimstone Prison! How do you plead?"<br>Maxwell replied,  
>"Guilty, sir."<br>"What have you to say in your defense?"  
>Maxwell cleared his throat, and said,<br>"I'm here on business of the Council of Notchton."  
>The pigman raised an eyebrow, and said,<br>"What business are you here on, and how does it relate to the winged women?"  
>Maxwell said,<br>"The two beings with me are known as Valkyries. They've been accompanying me on a quest to defeat one of their own kind, who threatens to destroy their land, and every other one he can get to. That includes your's."  
>Maxwell had the pigman's attention. The pigman said,<br>"Who is this...Valkyrie?"  
>"His name is Gravitite, and he has the ability to control gravity. He's destroyed entire cities, but he's not going to stop there. He wants to get control of his land, our land, and probably even yours. He's been here before, even though you probably don't know it."<br>"The portal into the Realm of Anu is only known to the humans!"  
>Maxwell shook his head, and said,<br>"Gravitite's built an unauthorized Idrit system through the Nether, and we need to find it."  
>Maxwell looked around, and said,<br>"This is Brimstone Prison, right?"  
>The tusked pigman nodded. Maxwell said,<br>"I'm sure you're aware of the Netherian Treaty. In exchange for peace between us, you let us have a section of land to do whatever we want, and you let us send you our most dangerous criminals to be kept here. We may need to talk to one of the inmates."  
>The pigman stroked his chin, thinking. Then, he said,<br>"Which one?"  
>"He was wandering around the Nether before you finally got a hold of him. He might have seen something."<p>

The three walked down the hallway lined with cells, escorted by two guards. As the got to the end of the hallway, they came to a large locked door. One of the pigmen unlocked the door, while the other one said the the trio,  
>"If the prisoner does know anything, your story checks out. If he doesn't, then things might get ugly."<br>As the first pigman entered the code, the second pigman continued,  
>"Remember, when you go in there, you'll be taking a serious risk. He's given us trouble ever since we nabbed him. Thinks he's a king, or something."<br>Maxwell interjected.  
>"He is."<br>"What?"  
>The door swung open, and showed a glass box, reinforced by obsidian. The room had no torches, but it was lit by the glow of the inmate. A large, white hot Blaze. He was slamming against the box walls, saying in a deep voice,<br>"You cannot keep me in here! I am the king of the Blazes! You have no authority to-"  
>The Blaze heard the door open, and stopped. He turned to see Maxwell, with Aeris and Matilda standing on either side of him. The Blaze's fire glowed even brighter. He shouted,<br>"_HUMAN!_"  
>Maxwell grinned as the Blaze began slamming against the glass, trying to get at Maxwell. The Blaze backed away, and fired two massive fireballs in Maxwell's direction. The glass shook, but the Obsidian reinforcements did their job. Maxwell said,<br>"Good to see you too, Spardrid."

After Spardrid had finally calmed down a bit, Maxwell started asking the questions.  
>"Spardrid. Before you were arrested, did you see any Nether portals that seemed out of place?"<br>Spardrid glowered at Maxwell, and said contemptuously,  
>"I don't need to tell you anything."<br>Matilda said,  
>"Oh, you <em>really <em>do."  
>Spardrid glared up at Matilda. Matilda looked down at Spardrid with the most intimidating look she could muster. Maxwell saw Spardrid look at her wings, and said,<br>"Pretty neat, huh? She's not a human. She's a Valky-"  
>Spardrid said quickly,<br>"I know what a Valkyrie is!"  
>Maxwell raised an eyebrow.<br>"You've seen Valkyries before?"  
>Spardrid grunted, and said mockingly,<br>"Yes, but I didn't know they came in blue."  
>Matilda grimaced. Maxwell said,<br>"Which Valkyries did you see? Did one of them have dark purple hair?"  
>Spardrid nodded. Maxwell asked,<br>"Did they have a Nether portal?"  
>Spardrid rolled his eyes, and said,<br>"No, they just spawned here. Of _course _they had a Nether portal!"  
>"Where was it?"<br>Spardrid stared at Maxwell coldly for a moment. The only thought going through Spardrid's head:

I could use this.

Spardrid, after a moment, said to Maxwell,  
>"I could tell you...but I need something from you first."<br>Maxwell's heart rate rose. If this was going where he thought it was going...  
>Spardrid continued,<br>"If I tell you where the Nether portal is, you give me my freedom."  
>"Not happening."<br>"Well, then. Have a nice day."  
>Spardrid turned, and sat in a corner. Maxwell slammed his fist on the glass.<br>"_Spardrid!_"  
>Spardrid said nothing.<br>Maxwell growled. He said,  
>"If I let you out, how do I know you won't reassemble your Blaze army and attack us?"<br>"You don't. But I know how much of a threat Gravitite is to you, so I believe you have no other choice."

* * *

><p>*<strong>The following is supplementary information on Porcus Cariehominus (Meaning Decaying Pig Man, aka the Zombie Pigman)<br>**

**The Pigman is one of the intelligent races of the Nether, and the only thing in said world that is vaguely like anything from earth. You may be asking why. The common Pig on Earth is very much like the one in Non-Minecraftian Earth, with one minor exception: Their skin contains a protein that makes it immune to the effects of Gangrene. It's hard to explain the way they got to the Nether without giving you a large section of Minecraft's history, so I won't try too hard to abridge it. Pigmen originated from lightning striking a group of pigs, altering their genetic code. They quickly gained dominance on their continent, where they lived alongside, coexisted with, and worshipped, the dinosaurs. (Information on the gods of the Pigmen is yet to be released) Their true downfall, however, was when explorers from another intelligent race crossed the ocean to the continent of the pigmen. The Villagers. Their relationship, now that I think about it, was much like the relationship with Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans in Non-Minecraftian earth, and that includes the viruses that were transmitted. The Villager settlers carried a bacterium in their livestock that they were biologically immune to, but the Pigmen were not. It altered the pigmen on the genetic level, causing terrible transmission of the disease Necrosis, which causes bloodflow to stop in patches of skin, causing Gangrene. However, living pig skin is immune to Gangrene, so the dead areas with no bloodflow rotted away, leaving exposed bones. Plagued by such a painful, and hereditary disease, the Pigmen attempted to eradicate the Villager settlers, and nearly succeeded. However, the Villager's oracles, which was just the medieval version of scientists back then, discovered a way to open a portal to 'The Land of the Dead'. The Nether. The Pigmen were banished to the Nether, adapted to the extreme heat, and live there to this day, bearing a deathly grudge against the Villagers who banished them there**


	29. Chapter 28: Phoenix

**Wow, has it really been that long?**

**Don't worry fellas, I'm not going anywhere, I'm finishing this book if it kills me!**

* * *

><p>Maxwell, Aeris, and Matilda walked across the Nether, the group silent. Maxwell had just promised Spardrid his freedom in exchange for information. Although, Maxwell thought, he gave him more than he had bargained for. It seemed like Spardrid had found some kind of Valkyrian shrine, and if it turned out to be what Maxwell thought it was, it would be worth Maxwell's while. Aeris finally asked,<br>"So...how long till we get there?"  
>"Shouldn't be too much longer. I think it's actually just over this rise."<br>As the group arrived at the top of the hill, Maxwell looked down at the Nether Brick structure at the foot. It was built from Netherian materials, but it's structure clearly wasn't Pigman. Through the glass windows (Most windows in the nether are barred with Nether Brick fencing), he could see that the interior was well lit. Everything that lived in the Nether preferred it dark. He looked towards Aeris, and said,  
>"I think that's it. Let's go."<p>

As the group silently entered the building, Maxwell could see that the interior was bare. As Maxwell studied the room, he wondered: If this was the shrine where Aeris's armor was, why was it out in the open like this? Did Lusonus just make a mistake, and the place was eventually robbed? Maxwell stepped in, and looked around. There were a few pieces of glowstone embedded in the roof, and the floor was made of holystone. Maxwell looked at the elaborate carvings on the walls, and then noticed something. Maxwell turned to Aeris.  
>"Aeris, look at this."<br>Aeris walked over to Maxwell, and saw the carving. It was a handprint in the wall, and around it was carved flames. Aeris said to Maxwell,  
>"Do you think I should...?"<br>"Worth a shot."  
>Slowly, Aeris took off her glove, reached out her hand, and put her hand in the center of the carving. For a moment, there was silence. Then suddenly, the door slammed closed behind them, and a voice spoke, saying:<br>"Scanning. Please do not move."  
>Aeris saw a blue pulsing glow underneath her hand. The glow continued for a few moments, until it faded as quickly as it had come. The voice returned.<br>"Initiating transference."  
>Before Aeris could move her hand, the carvings of flames sank back into the wall, and slid down from view. Out of the flame shaped holes shot a magma-like goo, engulfing Aeris's hand. Aeris yelped as her hand pulled away. The goo climbed up Aeris's arm. Horrified, Aeris grabbed at it to try and pull it off, but the goo only stuck to her hand, and began to climb up her other arm. Matilda rushed to Aeris to help her, but Maxwell held it arm out to stop her, saying,<br>"No, wait!"  
>Maxwell and Matilda watched as the goo engulfed her arms, and slid down her torso.<p>

* * *

><p>In the master smelter's room in Vulcaneum, the doors burst open. The Cockatrices flooded in the room, some fell into the lava pool, but the others remained indifferent. The alpha Cockatrice looked at the portal, bright purple crest of feathers glowing in the . Slowly, it walked over, and sniffed the obsidian. As it smelled, it stuck it's nose into the portal. The Cockatrice squawked in alarm, and was abruptly cut off as it was pulled in, disappearing from view. The other Cockatrices stared silently for a moment. Then, following their leader, they charged at full speed into the portal.<p>

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, the goo had covered every part of Aeris except her head. She stood in the middle of the room, constrained by the goo, unable to move. Maxwell said,<br>"Aeris, how do you feel?"  
>Aeris shook her head in disbelief, saying,<br>"It's gotta be at least four hundred degrees in here, but...It doesn't hurt!"  
>The goo was starting to shift into patterns as it solidified. It was beginning to resemble armor. The beginnings of joints were forming. Shouldn't be too long now, Maxwell thought.<p>

* * *

><p>At Brimstone prison, one of the guardian pigmen looked over the caverns from his lookout. He squinted at a distant green and purple cloud that was making it's way towards them. The pigman said to the one behind him,<br>"Lavrat. Gimme your telescope."  
>Lavrat turned around, and handed the guard a telescope, which he promptly put to his eye, and pointed in the direction of the advancing cloud. His eyes widened. Birds?!<p>

Suddenly, the one with the bright purple crest at the front squawked, and the horde stopped. The alpha stared directly at the guard. They stared at each other for a few seconds, examining each other, each trying to figure out how to deal with the other. Then, the alpha squawked, and the mouth of every bird in the horde snapped open, and out of their bright yellow beaks, they shot a cloud of darts in the direction of the prison. The guard shouted,  
>"We're under attack! Battle posi-"<br>A dart struck him in the chest, and he fell over as every guard on the wall ran in confusion as the venomous darts struck them. Before long, the horde had overtaken the prison, and continued charging in the direction of the scent from the intruders at Vulcaneum.

* * *

><p>Aeris was able to move slowly now. The voice returned.<br>"Initiating armor replication."  
>The floor swiveled beneath Aeris, and pointed her in the direction of the wall where a hole had suddenly appeared. Out of the newly formed hole, a fiery orange orb shot out, and landed squarely in Aeris's chest. As she was thrown back by the force, the armor hardened completely, embedding the gem in the chest, and forming everything except the helmet. Streaks of glowing orange formed in her blonde hair as she hit the wall behind her.<p>

Maxwell watched in horror as Aeris was thrown against the wall, and knocked unconscious. As she hit the floor, Maxwell ran up to her followed by Matilda, shouting,  
>"Aeris! Are you alright?!"<br>No answer.  
><em>SQUAWK!<em>_  
><em>Maxwell and Matilda's heads snapped up. Matilda said,  
>"Oh no."<br>"How did they get here?!" Maxwell said.  
>Something slammed against the door.<br>"Get the door!" Maxwell exclaimed as he and Matilda ran at the door. They put their backs to it, and held it closed as the slamming became stronger and more frequent. Matilda shouted to Aeris,  
>"Aeris, you've gotta get up! Aeris!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>Aeris!<em>  
>Aeris awoke to blackness. As she looked around, she wondered if she was even really awake. She stood up, seemingly on nothing, and shouted,<br>"Who's there?"  
>Silence.<br>"Hello?"  
>Then, the same voice from the shrine appeared. Through the darkness, in the direction of the voice, she could vaguely see a person.<br>"Welcome to the team, Phoenix.

Aeris woke up on the floor of the shrine. She looked around, and could see Maxwell and Matilda struggling to hold the door closed. Out the window, she could see nothing but blurs of green, purple, and yellow.  
>The Cockatrices! How?!<br>"Aeris, we could really use your help!" Maxwell said.  
>Aeris looked at her hands. She was wearing glowing orange armor. She felt the top of her head. No helmet. Then, from her left, she heard a mechanical sound. She turned, and saw a dusty orange helmet rising from the floor on a pedestal.<p>

* * *

><p>The Cockatrices slammed against the door furiously, the only thing on their mind being to kill the intruders. Each time they slammed against the door, they just barely failed, but they could feel that the intruders were weakening. They couldn't hold much longer. It was only a matter of time.<p>

Suddenly, an orange blur shot out of the roof. They stopped slamming on the door, and looked up. They saw a Valkyrie wearing glowing orange armor hovering just above the building. She appeared to be on fire. The Alpha let out a shriek, and the horde armed their darts, and fired. The Valkyrie made some sort of gesture with her hand, and fire rose up from every flame in the Nether, it seemed, and formed a protective bubble around her. The darts were incinerated before they could touch her. Then, the fire dissipated, formed into a long snake-like formation, and the last thing the Alpha saw was a flaming bolt heading directly for him.

* * *

><p>Maxwell and Matilda heard the alarmed cries of hundreds of Cockatrices, only to be silenced a moment later, accompanied by flashes of orange in the windows.<p>

And then, silence.

Maxwell and Matilda slowly opened the door to find that every single Cockatrice was gone, replaced by piles of ashes. As they looked around in awe, Aeris lightly landed in front of them. Her eyes were orange, and her armor seemed to be on fire in some places. Maxwell slowly said,  
>"Aeris...how do you feel?"<br>Aeris looked at her hands for a moment, and then, grinned widely. She said,  
>"I think my bird armor's been replaced."<p> 


End file.
